

'■'•■•■'•"■'ii 














kW^^'^ifi' -^fc^afvS 



THE 

Pathway of the Spirit. 

A GUIDE TO 

Inspiration, Illumination and Divine 
Realization on Earth. 



'I ^^ 

/ ' JOHN HAMLIN DEWEY, M.D., 

author of 

"the way, the truth and the life, a handbook of christian theosophy, 

healing and psychic culture ;" " introduction to the theosophy 

of the christ;" "christian theosophy defined*." 

"scientific BASIS OF MENTAL HEALING;" 
"divinity of HUMANITY," ETC. 




NEW YORK : 
FRANK F. LOVELI. & COMPANY, 

142 AND 144 WoRllI SlKKKT. 






Copyright, 1S90. 
By J. H. DEWEY, M.D. 

All Rights Reserved. 



TO ALL WHO LOOK FOR THE PROMISED "COMFORTER," 
THAT QUICKENING AND REVEALING 

SPIRIT OF TRUTH WHICH PROCEEDETH FROM THE FATHER" 
AND GUIDETH ''INTO ALL TRUTH"; 

AND 

WHICH IS YET TO BE POURED OUT UPON ALL FLESH 
AND LIFT THE WORLD INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHRIST 

IN THE 

PERFECT LIFE OF DIVINE SONSHIP AND BROTHERHOOD, 

THIS BOOK 

IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
BY A FELLOW-SERVANT AND DISCIPLE, 

THE AUTHOR. 



There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them 

understanding {Job, xxxii. 8). 

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and un- 
derstanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the 
fear of the Lord; . . . 

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the wat.-rs cover the sea (7s. xi. 2, 9) 

After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his 
brother, saying know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of 
them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, 
and I will remember their sin no more {Jer. xxxi. 33, 34). 



PEEFAOE. 



AS Moses was about to descend from the mount of 
revelation to carry out the instruction there re- 
ceived for the building- of the tabernacle, he was di- 
vinely admonished : ^^ See that thou make all things 
according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount/^ 

If in the following pages the author seems oracular 
and dogmatic in the presentation of his message, the 
reader is kindly requested to regard it as but the earn- 
est desire to be true to the pattern shown him in the 
mount of vision, and not as an assumption of authoritj^ 
for personal inspiration. Having been caught up in 
the Spirit to behold with open prophetic vision the 
ultimate certainty of an emancipated and perfected 
humanit^^ on earth, and to see that its immediate re- 
alization is a divine possibility and provision, througli 
the perfect co-operation of man, he can but sound anew 
and with emphasis the keynote of the Clirist message: 

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at 
hand; repent ye and believe the gospel/^ 

" We speak that we do know and testify that we have 
seen,^^ the gospel of a present and coniploto salvation, 



VI PREFACE. 

salvation from the thraldom and limitations of the 
sensuous life and its liabilities, in the realization of the 
supremacy, freedom and illumination of the Spirit. 
Our appeal is confidently made to the prophetic in- 
stinct and spiritual intuition of the reader. Responses 
from the divine inmost of the soul, the '^ still, small 
voice '" of the Spirit, can be full^^ trusted. No other 
authority is needed. Let but the sensuous mind and 
the clamor of tradition be hushed to silence, the voice 
of God in a living inspiration will be heard in the soul. 
The world is in spiritual torpor, bound in the chains 
of materiality^ and tradition. It needs awakening- to 
the full recognition of the Christ message, which opens 
the true and onl^^ door to its emancipation and absolute 
redemption. It will be asked : '' Does not the church 
proclaim that message?'^ Alas! the historic church 
has made the word of Christ of little or no effect 
through its traditions. The Christ ideal for man, 
whom he proclaimed a child of God, was the perfect 
and sinless life in communion and fellowship with the 
Father in this world. The Christ promised the pres- 
ent realization of this divine iDOSsibility through the 
co-operation of man, in faith and unity of spirit and 
purpose with the Father. The church has blindly 
transferred that ideal and promise to another world 
and practically denied its possible realization in this. 
In his gospel of spiritual birth and regeneration, the 
Christ gave to the world the law and conditions for 
the actualization of this ideal and promise, and dem- 
onstrated their reality in his own experience as an 
example. 



PREFACE. VU 

There is an arcanum of wisdom and power in that 
g"ospel little dreamed of by the worlds and wholl3^ 
misconceived of by the church. Under the personal 
ministry of Jesus it was opened in marvellous fulness 
to the understanding" and experience of the apostles, 
and under their ministry to others still. After their 
departure, however, it was closed again to the world 
by the misconceptions and misleading speculations of 
the Fathers. From that day, the blinding fogs of su- 
perstition and tradition have been sufficient to keep it 
hidden, save from a few hated and persecuted mystics 
of the succeeding centuries. These moral heroes and 
mart3^red saints, as living altars preserved the pente- 
costal fire, and kept to our own time the holy flame 
from utter extinction. They were ^Hhe salt of the 
earth,'^ living centres of a transforming energj^, chan- 
nels for the continuous work of a divine and heavenl}^ 
ministry. 

Under the swelling tide of spiritual advancement 
thus secured, the power of ecclesiasticism and anti- 
Christ at length is breaking. The reopening to the 
world of the divine arcana, and a great spiritual awak- 
ening in the promised return of the Christ in Spirit 
and power has begun. The transition age from the 
reign of materialism, selfishness and superstition, to 
the era of spiritual enlightenment, freedom and 
brotherhood is upon us. A renaissance of apostolic 
life and power Avitli its gifts of the Spirit is at hand. 

This volume is one of the voices, cr^ang anew, in the 
wilderness of modern doubt and creedal distraction ; 
"Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 



viii PREFACE. 

''The time is fulfilled/' ''Prepare je the way of the 
Lord, make his paths straight/' We seek not to build 
up a new s^^stem of doctrine or philosophy, but to 
open up a new and grander life to man, and make 
clear, as revealed in spiritual vision, the way and 
means of its immediate realization. 

Reader, in the spirit of a brother we ask 3^ou to read 
with unbiassed mind the volume before 3^ou, and to fol- 
low sacredly" the intuitions and deepest promptings of 
your own soul which its message shall awaken. These 
intuitions will thus become the channel of a divine in- 
spiration, which will open to you the secret of "the 
Word made flesh " in our great Exemplar, by which 
that incarnation ma^^ be reproduced in 3^our own, and 
in universal experience, for which 3^ou are divinely 
called to labor. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he 
that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do 
also; and greater than these shall he do; because I go 
unto the Father.'' The world has been all too slow in 
awakening to this mighty promise of the Master. 
The standards of the fathers and all the creeds of 
Christendom, over which the churches stumble and 
divide, are utterly worthless compared with the secret 
of that transcendent life which the Christ promised 
should be reproduced in all his faithful followers. 

Man as a son of God and brother of Christ is, through 
this higher evolution, to be enthroned in power over 
all earthly conditions, the absolute master of the world. 
The demonstration of this reality in the experience of 
the Christ as the brother of men, was the opened door 
of e^trance upon the regenerate life to all^ under his 



PREFACE. IX 

Leadership and help. '' I am the door : by me if any 
man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and 
out and find pasture/^ " I am the light of the world : 
he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but 
shall have the light of life/' 

The historic church is honestly believed by its de- 
votees to be the body of Christ, and its popes, pre- 
lates and bishops a true ^'^ Apostolic succession; '^ and 
the development of its theology, creedal authority and 
ecclesiastical power to be an outgrowth or unfold- 
ing of the fundamental principles planted by the Christ 
in the thought and life of the world. Is this true ? 
Why then has not the church become the re-incarna- 
tion of the Master's Spirit ? Why the decline instead 
of the unfolding and extension of the Apostolic life, 
power and spiritual gifts? Can ecclesiastical pomp, 
power and despotism be a development of or a sub- 
stitute for these ? No greater mistake is possible. 
These are the outgrowth of another doctrine than the 
divine sonship and brotherhood of humanity. They 
are not the unfolding and establishment of that 
brotherhood under the immediate inspiration of the 
Father's wisdom and goodness. Practical efforts to 
secure this result have had to begin outside the church, 
and often with its direct opposition. They are not 
the legitimate fruits of the Master's Spirit unfolding 
in the lives of his followers. 

The Christ organized no external church as an in- 
strument to save souls for another world. He taught 
no scheme of doctrinal theology or philosophy, and 
left no creed to be accepted as a- means or coiulition of 



X PREFACE. 

salvation here or hereafter. He did teach in unmis- 
takable terms that man is the child of the living" 
and infinite God, with corresponding divine possibili- 
ties inherent within him. He did lift up the ideal of 
a divine and perfect life for man on earth. He did 
teach by precept and parable, and illustrated by a 
living- example the law and conditions under which all 
men may enter into its realization. The salvation he 
preached was this moral and ph^^sical perfection. His 
ideal church was the realized Fatherhood of God in 
the actualized brotherhood of man, the enthronement 
of the king-dom of God— the love, wisdom and perfec- 
tion of the Father — on earth as in heaven. 

The historic church has been true to its ideals and 
faithful to the work it set itself to do. That work, 
primarily, was the saving of souls for another world, 
not the perfection of life in this. Its ideal of salvation 
has been the rescuing of souls from the eternal conse- 
quences in a future Avorld of a fallen condition in this. 
Its ideal of the kingdom of heaven in the perfect real- 
ization of the presence of God has been for the life be- 
3^ond, the benefits for this world being secondary and 
incidental. It has been true and faithful to this ideal 
and work, but such was not the ideal and work inau- 
gurated b3^ the Master; and in his name we call atten- 
tion to the mistake. His ideal and work were, pri- 
marily^, for this world, the realization of the presence 
of God and the kingdom of heaven on earth independ- 
ent of any consideration cf consequences in another 
world. His motto was, ''Take no thought for the 
morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the 



PREFACE. Xi 

things of itself; sufficient unto the day is the evil 
thereof/^ 

On the other hand^ we are told by the advocates of 
materialistic agnosticism that this Christ of the gos- 
pels is an invention of romance, the fiction of a design- 
ing and crafty priesthood, with no just claim to his- 
toric verity. Is he ? Who then was the transcendent 
genius to invent the divine ideal, and picture the 
perfection of a life for which no character of history 
furnished even the suggestion? Why did so skilled 
an artist vanish, passing into oblivion — the great un- 
named and unknown benefactor of his race ? Compare 
the grandest inventions of modern romance with the 
simple story of tlie gospel narratives, and how the 
ideal characters shrink into puny littleness in the 
majestic presence of the Divine Galilean. As simple, 
broken and imperfect as that story is, it has touched 
and stirred the profoundest depths of the human soul 
as no other literature has done. In a rude and semi- 
barbaric age it lifted up the divinest ideal our world 
has known. The loftiest aspirations of the luiman 
race, voiced in its seers and prophets, wer fulfilled 
and more than actualized in that matchless character; 
a character, however, not to remain exceptional, but 
the seed-germ of infinite promise, prophetic of ulti- 
mate realization in universal experience. This ideal of 
priestly origin ? The charge is too absurd for serious 
consideration. 

We have here the perfect ideal, and that ideal actu- 
alized in practical expei*ienc(^ and example, approached 
by no other character of romance or history. No 



Xll TREFACE. 

higher is needed, nor possible of conception. Its reali- 
zation in universal experience will bring* not only hu- 
manity, but the world it inhabits, to perfection. Wis- 
dom that is divine and perfect, taught in precept and 
parable and illustrated in example, is here; and, '^ It 
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
believeth.^^ 

No wonder, then, that this record is sacredly cher- 
ished, since here man meets face to face with and 
touches divinit3^ ^' For God who commanded the light 
to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to 
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in 
the face of Jesus Christ.^^ 

Two practical questions arise. First: will the im- 
partial study of the constitution of nature and man, 
and of the fundamental laws of being, justify the claim 
that man as an embodied spirit and child of God, may 
attain physical and moral perfection and live the per_ 
feet life of mastery over all material and moral condi- 
tions in the bod^^, as represented in the story of the 
Christ? Second: will the method given and illus- 
trated in the Christ teaching and example secure this 
result in universal experience ? These questions are 
seriously considered in the present volume, which, with 
the deep convictions of the author, are now left to the 
calm judgment and disposal of the reader. 



PART I. 

IMMEDIATE INSPIRATION AND KNOWLEDGE OF 
GOD, THE SUPREME NECESSITY AND UNIVER- 
SAL POSSIBILITY OF MAN. 



THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 

Necessity of God-Knowledge. — If God is absolute 
Being*, omniscient and omnipresent;, He is the supreme 
reality of the universe, and all being-s and things exist 
in, from and by Him. A correct interpretation of 
Nature, life, and the law of human destin^^ is, there- 
fore, possible only throug'h a correct understanding* of 
the nature and character of God and His purpose in 
creation. If there is no Supreme Intellig'ence as the 
controlling* Power of the universe, there is still the 
supreme Energ*y, and some orig*inal cause or central 
impulse within and behind the processes of the world 
which determines the results we see. 

Now whether we reg'ard the spring^ of causation 
and providence as a Supreme Being* of infinite intelli- 
g'ence, will and goodness, or a universal unconscious 
principle and spontaneous energ^y, our interpretation 
of Nature and life will correspond with the conception 
we hold in this respect; that is, our doctrines of cos- 
mogony and philosophy and of our own being*, possi- 
bilities and destiny, will correspond with the character 



2 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

and qualities that we ascribe to Gocl^ or that which 
we mentall^^ put in the place of God. There can, 
therefore^, be no j)erfect science, philosophy" or true 
understanding of life, being* and destiny, without a 
correct conception and understanding of the character 
and attributes of God. This when attained is true 
Theosophy. 

God Known Through Eevelation Only.— How can 
this practical knoAvledge of God be obtained ? Obvi- 
oush", only b^^ direct revelation of God to man. The 
stud}" of nature through the senses — the ''^scientific 
method''^ — does not, and as we shall show, cannot re- 
veal God. Some of the strongest and clearest minds 
have been led b^" this study and method into utter 
materialistic agnosticism. ^^ Canst thou by searching 
find out God ? Canst thou find out the Almighty 
unto perfection?'^ Is such a revelation possible or 
probable ? If God, as such, be a living reality, yes ; if 
not, there being no supreme revealing intelligence, the 
problem, under the present limitation of the human 
faculties must remain an insoluble mysteiy ; a fruitful 
source of conjectural and undemonstrable speculation. 

If, however, the processes of the visible world are 
the immediate manifestation of a transcendent, divine 
activity", under the direction of a supreme intelligence 
and will, holding a moral as well as a physical gov- 
ernment and control, then man as a moral and spirit- 
ual being, is entitled to a direct intercourse with and 
instruction from his moral Governor. Without this 
he can have no certain knowledge of the divine will 
and purpose concerning himself j and only to the ex- 



TIIK U'-:VELAT10N OP GOD. 3 

tent of such knowledge is he responsible for non- 
conformity. Hence there must in the nature of the 
case be some condition under which such revelation 
of and from the divine is not only possible but certain, 
if in truth God be a supreme lawg-iver, and man is 
under His moral government. 

What the Moral Nature of Man Invohes.— That 
man is a moral and accountable being*, no rational 
mind will dispute. But do w^e fully realize all that 
this fact involves ? Moral accountabilit}^ in man in- 
volves, of necessity, a moral law^ and government over 
him^; otherwise he could be accountable to no law 
above or beyond his own will and pleasure. But uni- 
versal experience testifies to an innate sense of some 
necessary restraint upon the exercise of these, inde- 
pendent of such as contact with society imposes. 
This restraining sense is an unmistakable, inward and 
ineffaceable recognition of a supreme law of right or 
righteousness. 

Divine Intelligence Necessary to a Moral Govern- 
ment. — A moral law^ based upon such deep and far- 
reaching discriminations in the sphere of motive and 
conduct, cannot be the automatic operation of a blind 
principle like that of gravit^^, chemical affinity;, etc. 
Such a basis of necessity involves not only a supreme 
standard of integrity, but a supreme intelhgence as 
arbiter or judge of the relation of motive and conduct 
to the law. Without this the talk of a moral govern- 
ment would be meaningless. Man w^ould be left to 
learn only from expedience what is right and what 
wrong; or rather, what is b(\st foi* himself, and this 



4 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT^ 

would be expediency, not moral law or principle. 
With the subtle relations that exist between man and 
man, and between the daily habits of the individual 
and his own supreme nature, ag'es of experience would 
be necessary under the Umitations of his inteUig-ence, 
for him to arrive at a knowledge of the absolute right, 
admitting- right to be an absolute principle jper se. 
Bat if as we claim, this supreme law of his life relates 
to man personalh^, not to a principle of blind necessity, 
but to infinite wisdom, justice and goodness, he may 
receive immediate instruction and guidance from the 
Divine parental government. 

This Reyelation of God's Will Must Be Sought by 
Man, — As a morall^^ accountable being it is left for 
man to seek a knowledge of his relations to the moral 
and spiritual life — the kingdom of God — as it was left 
for him as a rational being to learn his relation to the 
physical world, and b}^ the proper exercise of his 
powers to acquire a knowledge of that world. If he 
choose not to seek a better understanding of his rela- 
tion to his physical, social and moral environments, he 
must suffer from the results of his indifference and 
ignorance, until awakened by experience and the bet- 
ter example of others to the wiser course. 

The Moral Nature Necessitates the Recognition of 
God. — The moral nature which calls for righteousness, 
thus necessitates the recognition of a Divine Being- 
whose economy and government are absolute perfec- 
tion, whose will concerning man is the infinitely" per- 
fect way of life for him, conformity to which will 
make him perfect as the Divine is perfect. Without 



THE KEVELATION OF GOD. 5 

this divine sanction, that is, the discriminative intelli- 
gence and judgment of absolute wisdom, justice and 
goodness, there would be no basis for a moral law and 
order. The very terms would be without significance. 
So too the reason and moral sense, without a divine 
intelligence and judgment to which they stand related, 
would be evanescent hghts "which lead but to be- 
wilder, and dazzle but to blind/' 

The reason and conscience, then, are the sure, though 
finite expression of the infinite wisdom and goodness 
come to this limitation in man. Yet because they are 
a ray of the Divine, focused in the misty envelope of 
materialitj^ and sense, they are capable of kindling 
from within by a divine inspiration, and thus to unfold 
and shine forth — the brightness and glory of the di- 
vine. If it were not so, there could be, as we have 
said, no absolute standard of right, truth or justice; 
and man would be left wholly to expediency as the 
only principle on which to base the law of his life and 
conduct. That which he thought would bring him the 
most pleasure — his only standard of good — would of 
necessity be the governing motive of action. Might, 
as brute force or superior cunning, would make right. 
The ruling law of the animal would be the law of 
humanity, and any high order of human societ^^ would 
be impossible. But man has a supreme sense of right 
and wrong, per se, even though he may not know ab- 
solutely what is right in a given case. 

The Moral Sense Hooted in Divinity, not Expedi- 
ency. — If we ask: Whence thisiuiiversal S(Miseof i-ight 
and wrong? Philosopher's tell us tliat it is a faculty 



6 THE PATHWAY OF THK SPIKIT. 

established through hereditary impressions from ages 
of experience in successive g-enerations, the ultimate 
root of which was expediency; and that the varying- 
standards and ideas of right and wrong are wholly a 
matter of education. But is this an adequate explana- 
tion ? And of what value is this universal and deeply 
rooted moral sense, if there be no universal principle 
of right as such^ and no moral law and order which it 
involves and to which man is related by it ? It is 
clear then, that if there is no moral principle of right, 
per se, man is not a moral being and expediency is 
the only law of the personal life. The doctrine of 
righteousness — conformity with an absolute law of 
right — on which religion, Scripture, and all supposed 
inspired teaching are based, is a delusive superstition, 
and martyrdom for supposed righteousness^ sake an 
act of supremest foUj^ The blotting out of moral dis- 
tinctions, and the idea of a divine sanction and con- 
demnation which the denial of a moral principle in- 
volves, puts the highwayman, the bank defaulter, the 
petty thief, and every moral and social outlaw, on a 
level of merit with the moral hero and martyred 
saint. Why then should men, even rogues themselves, 
honor the one and despise the other ? But one answer 
meets the question; justice, mercy and goodness are 
strictly moral qualities, and are meaningless terms to 
an}' but moral beings. The fact that all men, even 
those who violate them, recognize the binding force of 
these principles, proves the moral nature of man, and 
thus his relation to a divine econom^^ and government, 
which through obedience links him to Divinity. As 



THE KEVELATION OF GOD. 7 

the inspiration of these principles has been strong- 
enough in men and women to lead thousands to seh- 
sacrificing- lives and even to martyrdom, their divine 
reality and orig-in find absolute demonstration in these 
examples. No such inspiration is possible from expe- 
diency. 

Moral Qualities Attributes of Spiritual Being 
Only. — As these transcendent qualities that disting-uish 
humanity and differentiate man from the animal king- 
dom are the expression only of the attributes of a 
moral and therefore spiritual being", tl^ej^ relate him to 
a corresponding* moral and spiritual kingdom. But a 
transcendent moral and spiritual kingdom, as such, 
would in turn, be empty and meaning-less without 
the enthroned presence of a Divine Being-, the en- 
throned perfection of wisdom, goodness and x)ower on 
the plane of the universal, eternal and absolute. 

Direct Intercourse with God. — This vital relation 
between the sphere of the human and the Divine, or 
man and God, renders free and unrestricted commun- 
ion with the Divine not onl}^ possible, but necessary. 
Necessary for the realization of the ultimate possibili- 
ties of man, and for the fulfilment of the divine will 
and purpose in his being-. *^'The time is fulfilled and 
the king-dom of God is at hand/' said the Master. 
That is to sa^^, the time has come for man, as a moral 
and spiritual being-, to turn from his absorbing- atten- 
tion to the mere thing-s of flesh and sense, that perish 
with the using-, and seek the higher and imperishable 
treasures of the Spirit. It is time for him to awake to 
the realization of his own spiritual nature, as a cliild 



8 THE PATHWAY Of^ THE SPIRIT. 

of God, and enter upon an earnest studj of his rela- 
tions to the spiritual kingdom, under the immediate 
inspiration and guidance of the Father, that he may 
^^knovv the things freeh' given to us of God/' 

This does not involve the utter ignoring of the things 
of the fleshl3^ life; for, said the Master, '' Your heavenly- 
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, 
but seek ye first the kingdom of God and His right- 
eousness, and all these things shall be added unto 
you/' The things of the outward world and the sen- 
suous life are as much the free gifts of God, as are 
the things of the Spirit, and are to be as gratefully 
accepted and honored in their legitimate use. Bat we 
dishonor God when our interest in them becomes par- 
amount to the demands of the spiritual nature, which 
calls for divine communion and fellowship, that we 
may walk in spiritual supremac^^ and unit}^ with God 
in all things, which is the only rational and true life of 
a child of God. Through this realization of God, man 
rises to the higher plane of the spiritual life, and 
dwells in such unity with the Father that ever3^ func- 
tion of the body as well as ever^^ activity" of the mind 
in its relation to the outward world, will be under the 
guidance of His wisdom and so biought to the full 
realization of His purpose in them. 

Thus will man walk with God in the Spirit and under 
His inspiration, while in the full normal exercise of all 
the fleshly activities, and of the iiiental powers in the 
study of the outward world. Only thus will the devel- 
opment of science, art, government, invention and all 
the legitimate industries of life, be brought to perfec- 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 9 

tion; because thus only can they be carried out in the 
spirit and to the end for which tiiey were ordained of 
Him. '"Use this world as not abusing- it/' is the 
counsel of inspired wisdom. It is the absorption in the 
things of the sensuous life and the perversion of its 
functions^ or the indulgence of the selfish spirit in them, 
that constitute "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the 
e^^es, and the pride of life."' To overcome temptation and 
avoid perversion, man needs the guidance of a higher 
wisdom than his own, and the inspiration of a higher 
motive than that which springs from the sensuous life 
of the natural man. There must be the complete 
transfer of the centre and spring of motive and inspi- 
ration, from the plane of the natural to that of the 
spiritual man, from the sensuous to the spiritual life 
and understanding. This is the first step in the pro- 
cess of regeneration, and the casting out of the selfish 
spirit, announced by the Christ as a universal neces- 
sity in human experience. 

The Kingdom of Grod. — The kingdom of God is the 
kingdom of truth and righteousness, found b^^ man 
only through supreme loyalty to God in the life. This 
loyalty of the heart to God is possible onl^^ through 
that love wiiich is awakened b^^ the realization of His 
love and Fatherhood to us. " We love Him because 
He first loved us.'' Truth pertains to the knowledg^e 
of all things and of our relations to them, physical 
and spiritual; while righteousness pertains to the right 
use of this knowledge and of our po\v(*rs in its pursuit. 

Perfect knowledge of all truth is impossible without 
divine illumination, and this is attained only through 



10 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

union of the soul with God. Conscious union with 
Gocl is a state of rig^hteousness^ and love is the only 
uniting" powei% because this alone secures the sponta- 
neous yielding and alleg-iance of the heart. Since true 
wisdom is the right use of knowledge and of our 
powers in its pursuit, it can be attained only through 
righteousness in the life. Hence the importance of the 
right attitude of mind and heart from the firsts that 
all needless mistakes ma^^ be avoided and true pro- 
gress hastened. All divinel^^ inspired teaching couples 
truth and righteousness together, and makes right- 
eousness the basis of all divine realization, and this is 
impossible save throagli the recognition of and allegi- 
ance to God as the Father of human spirits. 

The Throne of Power and Gorerument Within yet 
Above the Soul. — The principles of truth and right- 
eousness — the essential elements of the kingdom of 
God — are imx^lanted within all men and belong to their 
moral nature, as the controlling principles and law of 
the spiritual life. The evidence of this is the fact that 
the binding force of the obligations of truth and right 
are acknowledged and felt by all. It is this which 
causes an eternal prompting from the spirit within to 
seek their realization in the outward life. 

The blind impulses of the animal nature and sensu- 
ous life, ever tempt man to disregard these inner 
promptings of the spiritual nature, which thus gra- 
ciousl}^ links him with the divine, and makes inspira- 
tion, illumination and divine realization possible to 
him. If he yield to these temptations against the 
protest of the Spirit, he will be led into the various 



THE REVELATION OF GOJ). 11 

excesses and perversions which liave to so great an 
extent characterized the hfe of man. He thus repeats 
the tragedy of " the fall/^ so fitly symbohzed in the 
story of Eden. But if he resolutely turn and follow 
the leading of the Spirit and obey its law, he will re- 
ceive immediate power from the Divine to overcome 
the temptation and bring his life to the highest degree 
of perfection in all its relations with the inner and the 
outer world. In this he will follow the example of the 
Christ as a lo^^al child of God, and rise to fellowship 
with him in the realization of the perfect life. 

This opportunity comes to all, and each must indi- 
vidually meet and overcome temptation and rise above 
its power in th(^ strength of the Divine, through the 
spirit of allegiance to and dependence upon the inspi- 
ration and help of the Father. There is no other 
door of entrance, or pathway to victory and attain- 
ment of the divine and perfect life. It is the strait 
gate and the narrow way that leadeth unto life, found 
by so few. Tlie transformation of ^' the natural man " 
into the *' spiritual man,'' lifting hhn from the plane of 
the sensuous life and its limitations to the higher level 
of tlie spii'itual lifc^ in the i-ealization of its freedom 
and powcM', constitutes regeneration. 

Itepreseutative Types* — Adam and Christ are rep- 
resentative^. char*acters; and whether historic verities 
()!• symbolic, repi'escMit the cei'tain possibilities of man. 
Adam rc^presents the natural man snbji^ct to the 
temptations of the sensuous life. In Eden — symbolic 
of innocence — he represents tlu^ childhood of all nuMi. 
Driven out of Eden — yielding to temptation and fall- 



12 THE PATHWAY (»F THE SPIRIT. 

ing' from innocence — he pepi'esents all wlio have thus 
yielded and fallen into sin, and who has not? *' The 
voice of the Lord God walking in the g'arden/'' point- 
ing* out the rig'ht and warning' ag'ainst the wrong, is 
the intuition and prompting- of the Spirit^ which, in the 
period of innocence, is clearly heard by all. ** In the 
cool of the day/'" also, when the heat of desire and the 
fire of passion have spent their force in forbidden in- 
dulgence, ""'the voice of the Lord God " is heard in the 
accusing conscience, saying, '•'Adam, where art thou?" 

The animal nature knowing no law but indulgence, 
Avhen lifted to the plane of human life and associated 
with the higher human powers as it is in man, becomes 
^'more subtle than any beast of the field which the 
Lord God had made."' This is the tempter, symbol- 
ized by '"'^the serpent," which disputes and antagonizes 
the voice and law of the Spirit. Pleasure is the end 
and aim of the sensuous life and the highest reach of 
the anmial nature, and to the animal organism, unre- 
strained indulgence is legitimate. The human organ- 
ism, however, was made for the higher and nobler 
activities of a rational and moral being, whose law is 
duty, not pleasure, j^er sej while the animal nature 
was given to serve not rule the body. In the x^erform- 
ance of duty, and the victory over tem^Dtation and the 
selfish spirit of indulgence, through allegiance to the 
law of righteousness, man rises to the divinest joy and 
beatitude of his being, because it lifts him into oneness 
and fellowship with the Divine. 

The Christ, on the other hand, represents the spirit- 
ual man who through lovaltv to the leading of the 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 13 

Spirit from the first;, and by the power of its inspira- 
tion held his innocence and unity witli tlie Father, 
until the work of regeneration and final victory was 
complete, and he attained the perfect life of permanent 
illumination and spiritual supremacy above the sphere 
of temptation and the possibility of sin and disease. 

Possible to All. — What is thus represented in the 
story of Christ, represents the possibility of all through 
the power of an immediate inspiration and strength 
from the Father, which is promised to and secured b}^ 
all, through faith in, and allegiance to the leading of 
His Spirit in the life. The parable of the prodigal son, 
given by the Christ, represents again these two types 
of life. To the eldest, who remained with the father 
from the first and never violated one of his commands, 
he said : " Son, thou art ever with me and all that is 
mine is thine.^^ The prodigal took the gifts which that 
father had divided unto him, turned from the father's 
government and spent his substance in self-indulgence 
and riotous living, until dead and lost to the father. 
When, however, he had spent all, "he began to be in 
want/' and found that '^''no man gave unto hhn.'' 
"But when he came to himself,'' and remembered the 
father in his goodness and providence, and "arose and 
came to his father" in penitence^ faith, and the spirit 
of true allegiance, he received the immediate welcome 
and forgiveness of the father, who "said to his scn-v- 
ants, bring forth quickl}^ tlie best robe, and put it on 
him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet ; 
and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, ami l(^t> us eat, 
and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive 



1-i THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

again; he was lost and is found/^ He was restored at 
once to full communion and fellowship with the royal 
household, through no other expiation or atonement 
than a return through repentance and faith and the 
spirit of restitution, love, and loyalty to the father. 
Here, too, is symbolized the law and conditions of the 
forgiveness and restoration of every prodigal and sin- 
ner. These are the legitimate and necessaiy outcome 
and results of the being and moral government of 
God as the immediate Father of mankind. 

And again, if God, as supreme Spirit, intelligence 
and power, is the animating life of nature, then His 
immediate Fatherhood of men, and all that this rela- 
tion involves, is the legitimate and logical necessity; 
since man is the ultimate x)roduct of the life in nature, 
and thus the immediate offspring of God wlio is that 
life. As the immediate offspring of God, he necessa- 
rily partakes of and holds iDotentiallj^ within his being 
the essential nature and attributes of the Father. Tliis 
again implies and involves all that inspired teaching 
has clearly suggested and positivel3^ affirmed. Man as 
a spiritual being and child of God, cannot be true and 
loyal to the Father^s nature within him, onl^^ as he 
comes under the immediate inspiration and uplifting 
power of the Father's Spirit. Nor is it j)ossible for 
the unbroken continuance of this, without the unfold- 
ing of all the attributes of the Father^s nature, until 
they become embodied in the victorious, illuminated, 
and perfect life of His child. 

Man's Necessity, God's Opportunity.— Enough has 
been said to show the supreme importance to all who 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 15 

have consciously violated the law of purity and truth, 
of seekin.^ reconciliation at once, and unity with God 
in the Spirit — the true centre of motive and inspiration 
— that they may henceforth walk with Him and He 
with them in the inspiration and g*uidance of His wis- 
dom and g'oodness in all the relations of life. Man at 
his best needs this immediate inspiration and g-uidance 
of the Father's wisdom, as surely as childhood needs 
the better understanding* and g"uidance of earthl}^ 
parents. For while man as a moral being* has the im- 
planted sense of right and wrong*, the actual knowl- 
edge of what is right or wrong, as with truth and 
error, is of necessity a matter of education. Shall he, 
tiien, in this higher education be left wholly to the 
blind impulses of the animal nature and the results of 
his experience from their indulgence ? Or shall he 
obey the inner promptings of the Spirit to seek the 
immediate help and guidance of Him who sees the end 
from the beginning, and from whom he derived his 
sense of right and the inner prompting* to do it ? Shall 
not the righteous One whose omniscient wisdom only 
knows the absolute right, give all needed guidance 
and help to the children of His love and providence ? 
^' Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" He 
certainly will, but this does not absolve man from the 
necessity of personal co-operation, nor of desiring and 
seeking the needed revelation and help. 

The innate demand of the soul for truth and right, 
is itself the divine promise of its com])l(^test satisfac- 
tion, when man in the exercise of his moral freedom 
turns to the true and direct source of his supply in 



16 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

God. This divine promise of spiritual illumination and 
guidance, found faithful and assuring- utterance in the 
inspired words of the Hebrew Psalmist: ^*'I will in- 
struct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt 
go : I will guide thee with mine eye/^ Is not this the 
13romise of direct guidance by the eye of omniscience ? 
And again, in the inspiration of Isaiah : ""And, there- 
fore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto 
you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may 
have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judg- 
ment: blessed are all they that wait for him. . . . 
He will be veiy gracious unto thee at the voice of thy 
cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. . . . 
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, 
this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the 
right hand and when ye turn to the left.^^ 

The divine promise and the supply are perfect, wait- 
ing only the true mental and moral attitude of man 
for him to enter into the divinest realization in per- 
sonal experience. Hence divine inspiration and guid- 
ance should be, and in the nature of things must be, 
the first step in the higher education and realization 
of man as a moral and spiritual being under a divine 
g-o^'ernment. 

Keason, Philosophy, Rev elation. —Men have un- 
duly exalted reason and philosophy, and in their earn- 
est protest and reaction against superstition, priestly 
assumption, and ecclesiastical despotism, have too 
often forgotten the grandeur of the moral law, and the 
revelation of God, which it makes possible to man. 
In so doing, they lose sight also of their own possible 



THE KEYELATIOK OF GOD. 17 

attainment in truth and rig-hteousness, or perfection 
of being' under such revelation and g'uidance. 

Reyelation Open Equally to AIL— Let not the moral 
law and divine revelation here pleaded for, be con- 
founded with any special Bible of the world. Our plea 
is for the law of God written in the soul of every man; 
and for the immediate revelation of God which this 
makes possible to each soul through the gateway of 
the spirit which is in man, and which connects all men 
with God. ^^ There is a spirit in man, and the inspira- 
tion of the Almighty giveth them understanding.^^ 
" In God we live, move, and have our being.^^ He is 
the inmost life and potency of all things and beings, 
as well as the overruling intelligence and providence. 
Hence all things and beings exist and subsist of neces- 
sity in, from, and by Him. God is therefore as uni- 
versal in His presence, power and manifestation as 
nature; and as vitally active in the simplest processes 
of the physical world, as in the most exalted activities 
of the moral and spiritual realms. 

" As full and perfect in vile man that mourns, 
As in the rapt seraph that adores and burns." 

The revelation of God cannot be limited to any 
place, book, man, or class of men, but must of necessity 
be as universal as His presence and influence in the 
world, and specifically adapted to the actual necessities 
of each individual portion of His creation, from the 
worm to man, and from man to seraph. Man is dis- 
tinguished from the rest of creation by a sc^lf-conscious 
personality, with a moral sense of liis relation to a 



18 THl^ PATHWAY^ OF THK .^PIRIT. 

divine order and government; and it is^ therefore^ tlie 
privilege and the duty of each soul to seek and attain 
immediate communion with the Father through His 
own spirit. The doctrine of the necessit^^ of some in- 
termediary between the individual soul and God, is a 
pagan sui3erstition, based upon igjiorance of God's 
Fatherhood. 

The revelation of God to man, and to each soul is 
simpl}^ a matter of man's own individual recognition, 
attention, desire and faith. Seers and prophets have 
become such by this means alone. Some of these hav- 
ing come to the open vision or clear hearing of the 
'^ Word of God,'' have faithfully recorded their experi- 
ence and delivered the message of the Spirit wiiich 
ma}^ bave been opened to them for a particular people 
or for the world; but this can be neither a revelation 
nor an authority to another until its truth is recog- 
nized b^^his own soul. This, it will be seen, is the final 
authority of the truth itself, and to the individual that 
perceives it, is vested in his own recognition of it, not 
in the medium through which it was presented, or 
brought to his attention. The experiences and revela- 
tions of others may awaken our attention and interest, 
and lead us to listen, but the truth that we perceive in 
their revelations and experiences, is the response of 
our own souls, which is the revelation of God within 
us of so much of the truth as we are thus able to re- 
ceive. Hence, the object of all inspired appeals from 
one soul to another, is to awaken and call forth the 
revealing power of God, or the spirit of truth in every 
individual. But if we stop in the recognition of an- 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 19 

other's inspiration^, and it docs not bring- a correspond- 
ing* revelation in our own souls^ its mission to us is 
defeated. 

The stopping in the letter of the Bibles of the world, 
— in which the exalted experiences and words of in- 
spired wisdom of the w^orld's seers and prophets have 
been preserved — has tended to blunt the spiritual im- 
pressibility and hinder rather than help the develop- 
ment of inspirational power in those who thus accept 
them in the sense of an external and arbitrary author- 
ity, for which they were never intended. The author- 
ity is not in the book, though it contains never so much 
of truth in external statement, but in the unwritten 
word of God in the soul that recognizes and receives 
it. God revealed in the soul will recognize and re- 
spond to tlie word and manifestation of God wherever 
found. There can, therefore, be no external oracle of 
divine authority for man. He must know the word 
of God in his own soul, or it has no divine authority 
for him. The object, we repeat, of all divinely inspired 
writing and appeal is to help men to this. 

The principle here disclosed exposes the absurditj^ 
of any individual, or class of individuals, claiming to 
be oracles of divine revela tion and authority for others, 
or of being the exclusive custodian of God's truth for 
the world. "God is no respecter of persons.'' His 
presence penetrates, and His Spirit and providence 
embrace all alike. No powcM' or personality can stand 
between the individual soid and G(*d. Hence no man 
nor body of men can become vested with divine au- 
thority to coerce the soul of any man into the accept- 



20 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

ance of that which the word of God in His own spirit 
does not make true or rig-ht to him. God Himself, 
does not coerce the will of one of His children. Hav- 
ing- made that will eternally free, He does not confer 
upon another a power He Himself will not exercise. 

Revelation — Spiritual and Personal.— All experi- 
ence tends to bring- us face to face with the supreme 
fact that the knowledge of God is not acquired through 
the study of external nature, nor through books, nor 
from any external source whatever; but that it is 
whoU}^ a matter of inward personal revelation and ex- 
perience. The inspired words and experience of others 
may be used as hints and helps toward our own at- 
tainment, but can never be made a substitute for per- 
sonal experience. When w^e accept them as authority 
in an external and arbitrary sense, and do not enter 
into their spirit and powder through a corresponding- 
inward experience, which makes them true to us, they 
become a hindrance and a curse instead of a help and 
blessing. Man can find God only through the g-ate- 
way of the spirit in his own soul. In the ordinary 
conditions of the sensuous life, however, men need to 
be awakened to the recognition of their higher possi- 
bilities. Their attention must be so aroused and con- 
centrated in desire and faith — true prayer — that they 
will not turn from the seeking until the spiritual im- 
pressibility is sufficiently awakened and established to 
bring the needed revelation and experience. Divine 
inspiration and permanent illumination are secured in 
no other w^ay. In spontaneous trances, and in the 
ecstatic stag-e of the magnetic trance, this exalted ex- 



THE HEVELATION OF GOD. 21 

perience is sometimes temporarily realized, because 
mental action in all other directions is for the time 
fully suspended, and the attention abnormally aroused 
and concentrated on this experience. On awakening* 
from the trance, in such cases, and the attention be- 
coming- ag-ain absorbed in the thing's of the sensuous 
life, this inner experience is g-enerall^'' lost to memory. 
When, however, as is sometimes the case, a clear 
memory of the experience is broug-ht over to the out- 
ward life, the divine impressiveness of that holy sea- 
son rarely loses its influence on the entire subsequent 
life of the individual. The spiritual illumination and 
heavenly communion thus temporarily^ enjoyed under 
abnormal conditions, may become practically a normal 
and permanent experience, throug-h the persistent cul- 
tivation of spiritual impressibility and inspirational 
power under the proper conditions. He who would 
attain full and permanent illumination, however, must 
make it the supreme object of life. The western seeker 
after God, may learn a lesson in this respect from the 
Hindoo devotee, whom he too often despises. ^^The 
king-dom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seek- 
ing- g-oodly pearls : who, when he had found one pearl 
of g-reat price, went and sold all that he had, and 
boug-ht it.^^ The absorbing- attractions of the sensuous 
life to the natural man, must be absolutel^^ subordi- 
nated to the hig-her demands of the spiritual nature. 
The activities of the mind and the pursuits of life 
must be conducted under the motives and inspirations 
of the spiritual life, if we would enjoy the blessing- of 
divine communion and heavenly fellowship. 



22 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Man a Co-worker with Grod. — The moral freedom 
with which man is endowed, and the personal responsi- 
biUt^^ which this involves, render the seeking- of divine 
inspiration and realization not only a necessity, but a 
wise and beneficent provision ; since throug-h it he be- 
comes a co-worker with God, and a participant in the 
working- out of his own destiny. The relation also, 
which binds man to man in the indissoluble ties of a 
common origin, brotherhood and possible destiny, ren- 
ders it incumbent upon all who have reached the 
higher experience to do what they may to help others 
to its realization. In this view, the revelation of God 
to man depends as much upon the attitude of man 
toward God as upon God's attitude and relation to 
him. Hence were this impressibility to divine influ- 
ence universally cultivated, the direct inshining of the 
divine wisdom and goodness, the immediate revelation, 
guidance and help of the All-Father, would become 
the supreme reality and joy of universal experience. 

Objection to Divine Revelation Considered. — It 
may be objected, that we cannot assume the existence 
of a sphere of Divine intelligence and goodness with 
which to seek communion before it is demonstrated to 
us, since successful seeking confessedly demands entire 
faith and unreserved committal at the outset. To this 
we reply, that, in the nature of the case the only pos- 
sible demonstration is in the revelation itself, and this 
must be personal to each soul. If, as we claim, the 
Divine Spirit is the animating and all-encompassing- 
reality of being, there is a portion of the Divine nature 
focused in the inner life of eveiy man, which not only 



THE KEYELATION OF GOD. 23 

qualifies him for receiving- such revelation, but will in 
every case respond to the Divine touch in full personal 
recog-nition, when the proper attitude of the mind and 
heart is taken toward God. " Verily I sa^^ unto you, 
whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a 
little child, shall in nowise enter therein.^^ 

Man need not necessarijy assume the Divine exist- 
ence in order to seek its demonstration in a personal 
revelation, but he must not assume the opposite. Let 
him come absolutely unbiased, in the teachable spirit 
of a child, ready to w^elcome in all humility the manifes- 
tation of the Father's Spirit to his own. Let him still 
the materialistic reasoning's of the sensuous under- 
standing, and enter the holy stillness of his own inner 
life, and calmly listen to the voice that will then surely 
speak to him. His own spiritual intuitions will thus 
assert themselves, and he will g-ladly welcome the rev- 
elations from the heavenly and divine, that will cer- 
tainly come to him. The issues involved are too 
momentous to be ig-nored or slig-htingiy passed hy. 
There is no one yet too learned in the thing's of the 
outward world, to refuse to sit at the feet of the hum- 
blest seer of spiritual realities and listen to the testi- 
mony of his experience. His philosophy may be 
unsatisfactory, but his experience will not fail to 
stir a responsive chord. As a mere working* hypothe- 
sis, however, it is certainly as easy and consistent to 
assume the existence of a Divine being- and pi'ovidence 
behind and over the processes of the world, and witli 
this, the moral and spiritual nature of man and \\w 
possibihty of divine communion and r(»v(^la1 ion, :is to 



24 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

assume the contrarj^ It is quite as strong- and rea- 
sonable an a priori position. Every h^^pothesis must 
be judg-ed by the results of its worldng*. The one that 
meets and explains the most completel^^ all the recog- 
nized facts of observation and experience is nearest 
the truth. 

Important Facts Ignored. — There is one class of the 
facts of experience bearing especially upon the ques- 
tion of Divine existence and revelation, that are either 
entirely ignored by both materialists and pantheists^ 
or if recognized, are regarded as possible delusions and 
not of sufficient importance to constitute a factor of 
the problem. We refer to the exceptional experiences 
of the seers and prophets of the Spirit who have testi- 
fied from personal experience to the revelation of God 
in their souls, and whose exalted and consecrated lives 
under its inspiration have been the living witness of 
the truth of their testimony which, in many cases, 
received the seal of martyrdom. As questions of fact 
these experiences cannot be disposed of by ignoring 
them. The more they are studied, the more urgently 
do they appeal to and awaken our better nature, and 
the more important grows their demand upon our at- 
tention. The study of man from the standpoint of his 
moral nature necessitates, as we have seen, the recog- 
nition of a spiritual constitution w^hich relates him to a 
spiritual kingdom and a Divine government. This is 
the only consistent deduction from the supreme facts 
of human experience, and furnishes the only kej^ to the 
understanding of those higher exceptional experiences 
of inspired souls, and of their instruction to us con- 



THE EEVELATJON OF GOD. 25 

cerning" the wa^^ of reaching- a corresponding experi- 
ence. The earnest but fruitless effort of both the 
materialist and pantheist to find the secret of life 
without Divine revelation or the recognition of God, 
but serves the purpose of emphasizing the need of such 
revelation, since this is the onl^^ absolute demonstra- 
tion of His Being, possible to man. 

Divine Revelation the Only Basis of True Philoso- 
phy. — Revelation from God is the onl}^ possible satis- 
faction to a rational and moral being, since it is the 
only source of anj^ true knowledge or understanding 
of His will and purpose in creation, and so the only 
basis of a true philosophy of nature and life. Every 
attempt to account for the phenomena of life and in- 
telligence without the recognition of an original self- 
existent being as the giver of life and intelhgence, has 
proved an utter failure. It may well be asked, How 
can life proceed from that which has not life ? or intel- 
ligence from non-intelligence ? or the feeling" of moral 
obligation under a binding sense of right and wrong, 
where there is no moral law or eternal and unchang- 
ing principle of right in the constitution of things? 
And how could a principle of moral righteousness exist 
in the nature of things independent of the moral order 
of a spiritual kingdom and divine government, to 
which man as a moral and spiritual being belongs ? 

Theism a Logical Necessity.— Life, intelligence, and 
moral sense are not inherent attributes of matter; if 
they were, man could by some possible arrangement 
and correlation of material elements bring forth tlieir 
manifestation. Man can analyze and determine tlie 



26 THE PATHWAY OF TPIE SPIRIT. 

constituent elements and proportions of protoplasm, 
the simplest form in which life is manifest; but when 
he has rearranged these elements in the most accurate 
proportions and relations, his failure to reproduce the 
life, reveals his utter impotency in this direction. He 
cannot, indeed, by any chemical test even determine 
the difference between living* or dead protoplasm. The 
beginning and manifestations of life are dependent 
upon conditions beyond the power of man to provide, 
invent or determine. Sensation, intelligence and 
moral qualit}^ proceed only from life, and as none of 
these, including life, are inherent attributes of matter, 
the}" necessarily belong to that which is not matter. 
And since these qualities are manifest only under or- 
ganic conditions in and through matter, yet are not 
attributes of matter, they necessarily belong to that 
which is the organizing power over matter, and thus 
transcends it. To this invisible omnipresent some- 
thing which is not matter, and which transcends mat- 
ter, yet is manifested in and through matter — as life, 
sensation, intelligence, and moral quality — we can give 
no better name than spirit. 

Accepting spirit, then, as the organizing power in 
nature, and the omnipresent source of life, intelli- 
gence and moral qualit^^, we have all that is essential 
to the recognition of that which men have called God, 
and can sa}^ with Jesus that '' God is Spirit.^^ Man is 
the product of the operations of this life of Spirit in 
nature, and being the effect he will never be able to 
fully analyze and comprehend the cause and conditions 
which produced him. As a rational and moral being. 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 27 

however, he is the child of intellig*ence and goodness, 
and partakes of the nature of his source. He is capa- 
ble, therefore, of being- inspired and enlightened from 
and communing with his divine parentage, through 
his inner life which unites him vitally and organicalh^ 
with God. Hence, only through revelation can man 
knoAV God, and the fulness of this knowledge will be 
determined by the measure of his personal realization 
of God in his own life and experience. Theism in its 
broadest conception, as the basis of a philosoph^^ of 
nature, life and human experience, is the only h^'po- 
thesis that adequately meets the requirements of all 
the facts involved. Both materialism and pantheism, 
in denying or ignoring the existence of an overruling 
intelligence and Divine government, are obliged to 
ignore the moral law and order, and the moral nature 
of man which relates him to that order, and thus to 
frame a philosophy that does not embrace all the facts 
of human experience, nor meet the necessities of man. 
Mistake of Theologians — The moral and spiritual 
nature of man which relate him to a moral order and 
Divine government, makes, as we have seen. Divine 
revelation both a universal necessity and possibilit3\ 
Hence, as this divine relation is personal to each soul, 
the revelation itself may and must be immediate and 
personal to each and all. The theologians who claim 
that the Bible is the onl3^ direct and authoritative vcv- 
elation of God and of His will possible to man, are 
nearly as far astray as the agnostics themselves. 
They really stand almost if not (piite as much iu the 
way of each man^s seeking the necessary personal ivv- 



28 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

elation for himself, since tliej^ practically and in the 
most dogmatic spirit deny its possibility^ The power 
of dog-matism over the mass of men is almost supreme, 
whether wielded on the side of truth or error. 

Experience the True Test. — If God has been re- 
vealed to one human soul, He ma}^ and ought to be 
revealed to each and every other soul. Indeed, as 
alread^^ shown, there can be no revelation of God, but 
that which is personal and experimental. Who can 
know practically anything of the nature of a mother's 
love until it becomes a personal experience ? So of all 
spiritual realities. The statement of a truth, however 
correct and authoritative, is but testimony, not in it- 
self revelation. To the individual nothing is revealed 
that is not made known to him. Nothing can be abso- 
lutely known until realized in personal experience, hence 
true revelation is experimental knowledge. Theoretical 
and inferential evidence and acceptance of the truth of 
anything is not sufficient for perfect knowledge; it must 
be experimental to be practical. The realization of God 
in personal experience, is, therefore, the only real knowl- 
edge.or revelation of Him possible to man. The firmest 
intellectual conviction of the truth of another's experi- 
ence is belief, not personal knowledge of its truth, for 
where knowledge begins belief ends. 

However genuine may have been the experiences 
recorded of Moses and Elijah, or of Paul and Jesus, 
those experiences can be of no practical service to the 
world unless they lead others to seek and attain the 
realization of a corresponding experience. Because 
this has not been done by their followers — owing to 



THE KEVELATION OF GOD. 29 

the blind teaching of theology that these exceptional 
experiences and inspirations of the Bible characters 
were to be accepted as substitutes and authorit}^ for 
others — scepticism concerning- the reality and possibil- 
ity of these thing-s prevails in the world to-day. The 
false teaching- and the spiritual impotency of the 
church itself, is larg-ely responsible for the prevailing* 
ag-nosticism of our ag-e. 

The Nature of True Faith. — Belief is not necessarily 
faith, as this word is used in the New Testament, and 
especially emphasized by the Master. Belief may be 
only blind credulity based upon traditional prejudice 
and wholly fictitious and arbitrary authority; this is 
superstition. Such belief is more of a hindrance than 
a help to the attainment of a personal knowledge or 
demonstration of the truth, because it leads to con- 
tentment in the mere belief. To all sucli the question 
of Christ to Pilate is especially applicable and sig'nifi- 
cant. '' Say est thou this of th^^self, or did another tell 
it thee?^^ And, ag-ain to the Jews, '''Why judg-e ye 
not of yourselves what is rig-ht ? " True faith is that 
inward assurance based upon an intuitive recog-nition 
of a truth which prompts the believer to seek its reali- 
zation in personal experience. It was such faith to 
which the Master referred when he said, ^'AU things 
are possible to him that believeth.^^ 

The soul animated by such a faith has the inward 
assurance that what has been experienced or attained 
by one, may, under proper conditions be essentiality 
reproduced by others. Once believing iu the reality 
of another^s experience however exalted, he will not 



30 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

rest content until what has thus been suggested, or 
its equivalent, becomes also a personal experience. 
The Bible records thus accepted, may and will be made 
the mightiest stimulus toward the uplifting, advance- 
ment and final emancipation of the world in the trans- 
figuration of man universal. 

The Biblical Appeal. — The object of the appeal of 
all Bible inspirations is to arouse the spiritual life in 
man, and lead him to seek Divine inspiration and guid- 
ance. The Christ, who stands at the head of all the 
sons of God who have found the Father and rejoiced 
in the light and blessedness of personal communion 
with and immediate revelation from Him, asked no 
one to rest in the assurance he gave, of the existence. 
Fatherhood, love and providence of God, but to make 
the demonstration of their truth in personal experi- 
ence the supreme end and aim of their being. '^ My 
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me ; if anj^ man 
willeth to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine 
whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.^^ 
He gave his followers clearly to understand that the 
kingdom of God he preached was not a set of doc- 
trines to be accepted as a system of truth by the in- 
tellect, but a new and higher life to be attained in per- 
sonal experience. It was his startling and abrupt 
announcement of this truth to Nicodemus — that the 
kingdom of God could not be revealed save as it was 
realized in the personal life — that shattered the rabbits 
traditional ideal of the kingdom, and led him to look 
within for that which can never be found or derived 
from without. 



THE KEVELATIOK OP GOD. 31 

The Master's Supreme Legacy. — Among- the last 
words of the Master to his immediate disciples^ after 
having- done all in his power during- the three years of 
his personal ministrj^ to awaken within them some 
adequate conception of the king'dom of God, and the 
higher life of the Spirit it opened to them, and to en- 
kindle a desire for it, he said, " I have yet many thing-s 
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How^- 
beit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he Avill g-uide 
j^ou into all truth, . . . and wall show you thing-s to 
come." ^''The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, 
whom the Father will send in my name,'" '^ whom I 
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of 
truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall 
teach 3^ou all thing-s and bring- all things to youv re- 
membrance, whatsoever I have said unto 3^ou.'^ ^^He 
shall testify of me: for he shall receive of mine, 
and shall show it unto you. All thing-s that the 
Father hath are mine: therefore said I he shall take 
of mine, and shall shew it unto you." As the Father 
held no secret from the Son who dw^elt and walked in 
such perfect unity with Him, neither would He from 
any other of His children under like conditions. The 
Father g-ave ''not the Spirit by measure unto liim;" 
because he g-ave himself in unreserved and holy con- 
secration unto the Father. The Christ clearly aflirms 
that the same revealing- '' Spirit of truth which pro- 
ceedeth from the Father," would, on the same condi- 
tions, inspire and illuminate them as it had him. And 
this promise w^as to all his faithful followers, no ex- 
ceptions being- given. ''I am the light of the world 



82 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

[example for the world]; he that followeth me shall 
not walk in darkness, but shall have the lig-ht of life/^ 
Thus in the last hours of his earthly teaching", as the 
richest legacy he could leave his followers, he points 
them to the immediate inspiration and guidance of the 
Divine Spirit in their own souls — for which his exter- 
nal teaching had prepared them — as the supreme and 
onl3^ source of revelation, the illumination of true wis- 
dom, the true Theo-Sophia. 

The Kingdom of God Within.— Nature is external, 
but God is internal to man and to Nature. Only 
through the internal of his own being, therefore, can 
man enter into the kingdom of God and find com- 
munion and fellowship with the Divine. This once 
fully attained he may then study and interpret Nature 
and all the relations of life and experience in the inner 
light of the Divine omniscience. He will thus and thus 
only attain to the true understanding of God, and the 
final mastery of Nature and life, over which as the 
child of God, he is destined to achieve and hold domin- 
ion. The universe is but the birthplace, nursery, 
schoolroom, playground, and workshop of the human 
soul, as the child of the Eternal, and therefore in the 
true order of things is placed under his feet, to be 
mastered and ruled over by him as he enters into his 
kingdom or unfolds in the realization of his true being 
as the child of the Divine love, wisdom and providence. 
^* For there is nothing covered, that shall not be re- 
vealed; and hid, that shall not be known.^^ 

Men Led, not Driven to listen to Truth.— The 
ignorant and the vicious may very properly be physi- 



THE REVELATION OF GOD. 38 

cally restrained to prevent their harming* themselves 
and others, until throug-h appropriate means their 
better nature is aroused and they can be persuaded, 
not forced, to seek and hsten to the voice of God in 
their own souls. This act performed in the spirit of 
brotherly kindness, would be but the carrying- out of 
the law of brotherhood to the salvation of both the 
social order and the individual member. This is the 
onl3^ principle upon which prison discipline should be 
founded and conducted. On this principle, ever^^ penal 
institution and reformatory would be turned, as they 
should, into hospitals and schools for the spiritual heal- 
ing*, moral education and civil and industrial training* 
of their inmates. 

The idea of retaliation or punishment in any form 
should be banished forever from the thoug-ht of man. 
It is a relic of barbarism and savag-ery. All reform 
as well as all divine revelation must come to the soul 
of man through the spirit which is in him, connecting* 
his life with the Divine. When this tremendous fact 
is once fully reahzed in all its divine significance, men 
recog*nizing* the secret spring of the Father's Spirit in 
the life of the most abandoned and hardened of His 
children, will appeal with such boldness, directness and 
certainty from the spirit of a brother to the heart of 
a brother, and from the love of the Father to the 
heart of His child, that the divine from Avithin will 
respond, the fountains of the g*reat deep will be un- 
sealed, and the cleansing* and healing* waters of the 
Spirit will break forth in power to cleanse and restore 

the wanderer. 
3 



34 THE PATH^WY OF THE SPIRIT. 

The Key to Missionary Success.— The law and prin- 
ciple thus applied to the reform of the vicious and 
criminal classes, apj)lies with equal if not greater force 
to all missionary work for the spiritual awakening^ 
and regeneration of men in all ranks, civilized and un- 
civilized, who have not yet been brought to a realiza- 
tion of their relation to God and their real duties and 
privileges under this relation. In this work no appeal 
to arbitrary authority of church, creed or book is 
admissible. The appeal must be made directly to the 
authority and word of God in each soul. The Christ, 
our great exemplar, ajDiDcaled only to this. This only 
will arouse the true sense of personal responsibility^ 
and awaken an unquestioning response in the soul. 
The recognition of the actual brotherhood, equality 
and privilege of all men before God is an absolute 
necessity. All men, therefore, should be appealed to 
and persuaded as the children of God and brethren of 
Christ and of each other, to turn at once and seek the 
immediate revelation of the will of the Father and His 
help each in his own soul. The moral sense and the 
Spirit of God in the souls of all His children will re- 
spond to the appeal from the heart of those who are 
themselves alive in the Spirit and love of the Father. 
Spirit responds to spirit, and hearts to genuine sym- 
pathy. 

Right and Wrong Use of Scripture.— The lives of 
inspired men and the words of inspired wisdom re- 
corded in all true Scripture should be pointed to for 
example, instruction and encouragement in the way of 
life, not as arbitrary authority. '' Eveiw scripture in- 



THE l^EVELATIOIsr OF GOD. 35 

spired of God/^ said Paul, "' is also profitable for teach- 
ing, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is 
in righteousness : that the man of God may be com- 
plete, furnished completely unto every good work/^ 
Used in this way, the Bibles of the world instead of 
enslaving the souls of men and retarding their real 
spiritual awakening and growth as they have been 
made to do in the past, will become of priceless value 
in the spiritual education and advancement of the 
race. Being written in and from the Spirit, they ap- 
peal to and tend to quicken and call forth the spiritual 
life in men. 

The love of truth and righteousness thus enkindled, 
the spiritual illumination and power to perceive and 
do the right, are evidences of the souFs activities un- 
der the immediate inspiration and authority of the 
Father's Spirit. But when a book containing a record 
of inspired words and experiences is presented to the 
soul as an external standard of arbitrary authority to 
which an unquestioning submission is demanded, 
whether the truth it contains is perceived or not, it 
becomes an instrument of a most blighting despotism, 
and a curse to both priest and people. When the let- 
ter of a book is assumed to be the word of God, an 
external oracle of divine authority over the reason, in- 
tuition and conscience of the soul, instead of appealing 
to these as the final authority of the truth of the nu^s- 
sage, it becomes an instrument of spiritual death in- 
stead of spiritual life for which it was gi^-en. Both 
the priest who ministers at tlie altar of religion, and 
the people who call for spiritual instruction at his 



36 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

handS;, are thus enslaved and blinded b3" the letter, 
and lose the sphit which enligiitens and saves. " For 
the letter killeth^ but the spirit giveth life/' '''And if 
the blind lead the blind^ shall they not both fall into 
the ditch?'' 

Once deny the inward voice of the living* and omni- 
present God in the soal of ever^^ man^ and assume, be- 
lieve and teach that His last and only spoken word to 
men is confined to a book^ and you have effectually 
shut off access to God even throug-h the book. If 
there is nothing* of kindred nature in the living- soul to 
recognize and respond to the inspiration in and behind 
the messag^e of the book, then there is nothing in the 
book for that soul. But if the message of the book be 
inspired of God, and there is that in the soul which 
recognizes, responds to and unites with the spirit and 
inspiration of the messag-e, it can be nothing- less than 
the inspiration of the same living God in the soul that 
responds. Onlj" on the recognition of this truth can 
the Bibles of the world be made the instruments of 
spiritual education and advancement. Deny the power 
of a present living inspiration to men, the j)ower of the 
unwritten and unutterable word of God in every soul, 
to meet, interpret and XDroperly use the true word that 
has been written or spoken, and assume the absolute 
suj)remacy and arbitrary authority of the written 
word over the living soul, confining the right of inter- 
pretation to a chosen few, and you have assumed the 
prerogative that belongs to God alone. You have 
effectually shut the door of the kingdom to priest and 
people alike. 



THE BEyELATIO:N^ OF GOD. 37 

This is precisely what the Christian Church has 
done, Catholic, Greek and Protestant. They have 
locked the door and held the key, neither entering- 
themselves nor allowing- those to enter who would. 
Whenever any in the church have found the key and 
entered in to drink of the living waters of the Spirit, 
they have met only with the anathema and ostracism 
of the church itself. The fiercest persecutions, the 
most cruel martyrdoms, and the fiendish tortures of 
the Inquisition itself, have been the legitimate fruits of 
this false assumption and the ecclesiastical despotism 
it involves and necessitates. 

No Arbitrary Authority from Grod. — No divinely 
inspired soul has ever yet demanded the arbitrar3^ ac- 
ceptance of his word of testimony and appeal. When- 
ever such a demand is made, its real source in the 
human and earthly is at once revealed. "Where the 
Spirit of the Lord is there is libert3\^^ The claim for 
any book or prophet, as the infallible and only inspired 
oracle and authoritative Word of God to man, is ficti- 
tious, wicked and absurd. The Word of God comes to 
emancipate, not to enslave. The spiritual experience 
of one soul, even of the Christ, is possible in its essen- 
tial features unto all. So taught the Christ. '' Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me the 
works that I do shall he do also; and greater than 
these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.^^ 

When this truth of a present living inspiration, i)os- 
sible to all men, is universally recog'nized, and i\w 
divine experience and testimony of illuminated souls 
are brought to the attention of all men under this rec- 



38 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

og'nition^ the prophetic words of an ancient inspiration, 
with which this paper began, will become literall3^ ful- 
filled. ''After those days, saith the Lord, I will put 
my law in their inward parts, and write it in their 
hearts and will be their God, and they shall be my 
people. And they shall teach no more everj^ man his 
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying. Know 
the Lord : for they shall all know me, from the least 
of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for 
I will forgive their iniquitj^, and I will remember their 
sin no more/' 



PART II. 

CHRISTIAN THEOSOPHY DEFINED AND ILLUS- 
TRATED, AS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE THE- 
OSOPHY AND OCCULTISM OF ANTIQUITY AND 
THE FAR EAST. 



And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and 
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent, 

O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, 
and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them 
thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may 
be in them and I in them. (John, xvii. 3, 4, 25, 26.) 

No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the 
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John, i. 18.) 

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the 
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by a Son, (Heb. 
1.1,2.) 



WHAT IS THEOSOPHY? 

Theo-Sophia, — The term Theosophy, from two Greek 
words, tlieos ''g-od/' and sophas "wise/' signifies God- 
knowledge, or wise in the things of God — Divine wis- 
dom. As defined by Webster, it is "A direct, as distin- 
guished from a revealed, knowledge of God, supposed 
to be attained by extraordinary illumination, espe- 
cially a direct insight into the processes of the divine 
mind, and the interior relations of the divine nature/' 
"A theosophist,'' says Vaughan, '^ is one who gives 3^ou 
a theory of God or of the works of God, which has 
not revelation, but inspiration of his own for its basis/' 
"In this view," says another, "every great thinker 
and philosopher, especially every founder of a new 
religion, school of philosophy, or sect, is necessarily a 
theosophist/' 

The Ideal of Philosophy. — This higher wisdom and 
mastery has been essentially the ideal of attainment and 
effort held by the sages and philosophers of the race 
from time immemorial. Awakened minds in all ages 
have sought to penetrate the arcana of Nature and 
wrest from her, if possible, the secret of life and destiny. 
They have sought a knoAvledge of her occult forces and 
secret processes, to gain if might be, a masterj^ of the 
world and of the conditions of life and immortality. 

To this end mystics in all times have endeavored to 



42 THE PATHAYAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

quicken and exalt the soul's powers of perception and 
will, by the suppression of the fleshly activities, and 
the subordination of the body to mental development 
and supremacy. This has led, especially in the East, 
to the most severe and extreme austerities of asceti- 
cism, self-denial and mortification of the flesh, through 
which the desired mental supremacj^ and illumination 
Avere supposed to be reached. 

Throug-h such effort it is believed that the esoteric 
wisdom, adeptship and occult science claimed for the 
ancient Mag-i, were attained. A corresponding claim 
for a secret " Brotherhood of Mahatmas ^' in the East, 
as still holding the treasured Avisdom and occult science 
of the past, is now^ being seriously presented to our 
western world, in the name of Oriental Theosophy. 

The hidden knowledge and occult power believed to 
have been thus attained by the few, has been and still 
is held as too great and sacred for the common mind, 
and is thus kept by the Adepts as the treasured wis- 
dom of the ages, to be yielded up onlj^ to such as 
through initiation and discipline become prepared to 
receive it. 

Origin of Priesthoods. — Out of this supposed neces- 
sity of initiation and preparatory discipline, have 
sprung the sacred temples of the past with their secret 
rites, ceremonies and initiatory degrees, with corre- 
sponding orders of initiates, from the neophyte to the 
Adept or Hierophant. From the initiates have sprung 
also the various orders of priests and teachers to stand 
between the masters and the common people as inter- 
preters of the sacred mysteries, 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 43 

This system of interpretation and the symbolic and 
figurative language in which it has ever been given, 
instead of enlightening the common mind, has but 
tended to mystify and bring it in subjection to priestl^^ 
authority and domination. This mystification and 
subjection of the common people to arbitrary author- 
ity has ever proved the fruitful source of the most de- 
grading forms of mental slavery, ignorance and super- 
stition. 

Thus on the results of what was at first claimed to 
be original and independent inquiry and research, have 
been based the most stupendous monopolies of knowl- 
edge and the most despotic autocracies of priesthood. 
All this, also, in the name of religion; for on this basis 
have been established all the great religions of the 
world save Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedan- 
ism. These three differ from the others in the fact of 
a special claim to divine revelation as their basis and 
authority. All the other prominent systems of relig- 
ion and philosophy, are supposed to be the result of 
human discovery or invention independent of a divine 
revelation or inspiration. Hence Theosophj^, as it 
comes to us from remote antiquity and the far East, 
is called the '' archaic Wisdom Religion, the esoteric 
doctrine once known in every ancient countr3^ having 
claims to civihzation." By its modern devotees it is 
specifically defined as, "The Wisdom-Religion taught 
in all ages by the sages of the world." 

Fundamental Differences.— Here begins the funda- 
mental dift'erence between both the claim and esotc^MC 
teaching of the Eastern Theosophy, and that whicU 



44 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

constitutes the Tlieosophy of the Christ. The first is 
based upon the loftiest attainment and apprehension 
of the human mind by its own unaided effort; the lat- 
ter upon the highest development and activity of the 
human powers under divine inspiration and enligiiten- 
ment. The deeper esoteric understanding of the things 
of God (first or governing principles) involved in each, 
is claimed in botli cases to be the result of illumina- 
tion. In the first, however, the illumination is sup- 
posed to be self -induced and self-contained; in the lat- 
ter, the direct result of a divine leading and influence 
heliDing the seeker after God and opening to him the 
mount of vision. The knowledge and wisdom reached 
hy the first, is, therefore, considered strictly human, 
the result of unaided human effort; that of the latter, 
as the wisdom and knowledge of God, reached b^^ man 
through the help of a divine inspiration and enlight- 
enment, crowning him with the ^^ Gifts of the Spirit.'^ 
It is undoubtedlj^ true that ^^ God hel^DS those who help 
themselves,^^ so that every seeker after the highest 
truth must receive more or less of divine help; yet 
when the soul starts out b^^ ignoring both the fact or 
possibility of such help, it must to some extent at least 
shut out its blessing from the life. 

The Theosophy of the Christ.— Christian Theoso- 
phy, then, is that understanding of the nature of God 
and of man, of life and of destin^^, opened to the world 
in the divinely illuminated life and teaching, of the 
Christ and his inspired Apostles. The New Testa- 
ment, in which that life and teaching is recorded and 
preserved to us, is its standard Scripture and text-book, 



I 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 45 

The special claim for the pre-eminence of the Chris- 
tian Theosoph}^ and its superior means of attainment 
as well as the more perfect and immediate realization 
it makes possible to man, is based upon the recog*ni- 
tion of Jesus as the Christ, who, throug-h the divine 
anointing* and illumination, was the first to attain the 
supreme realization or conscious union with God, in a 
single earthly experience. All other teachers confess- 
edly fell short of this; hence his word and experience 
are of supreme authority to the race. Having lived 
the perfect life of personal mastery through spiritual 
supremacy in the flesh, he thus opened and demon- 
strated its possibility^ for all, as well as the law and 
means of its attainment to all. Being the first to 
achieve this result, he became thereby the Supreme 
Teacher, leader and helper of His brethren, ^^ the 
way, the truth and the life^^ for his race. If this 
claim for the Christ and his Theosophy be just, its 
truth and saving power will sooner or later become 
the universal recognition and glad experience of man- 
kind. 

The Claim Disputed. — The advocates of the East- 
ern philosophy dispute the claim that Jesus reached 
his attainment in a single incarnation; v/liile some 
deny his existence altogether. Such as accept the 
essential truth of the story of his life, however, claim 
that he was, like other Avatar's of the past, an incar- 
nated " planetary spirit.^' He had, therefore, ])assed 
through many incarnations before attaining that de- 
gree of spiritualit3^ which enabled him to acconiplisli 
what he did in his last inc^trnation; and furtliermore, 



46 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

that he must have been initiated and trained in the 
secret brotherhoods of the East to which he might 
have had access in early Ufe. 

This explanation is necessarj^ to the claim of Oriental 
philosophy ; for if Jesus attained his divine realization 
in a single earthly experience^ and from his altitude of 
vision taught men that the same was possible to all^ 
then the fundamental doctrine and claim of that teach- 
ing is proven false. 

The Reply. — In reply to this explanation of the 
Oriental Theosophist, it need only be said that Jesus 
was too royal a nature^ and too loyal to truth not to 
acknowledge the source of his exceptional wisdom and 
power. This he did in unmistakable terms, ''^The 
words I speak unto you, I speak not of my sell ; but 
the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the work.'^ 
'^ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father 
in me : or else believe me for the very works^ sake. 
Verih^, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, 
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater than 
these shall he do because I go unto the Father.'^ On 
one occasion, when speaking in the temple, in the pres- 
ence of neighbors who evidently knew of his early 
history, so that if he had actually been under the 
training of eastern Adepts, the fact would have been 
known to them, we read, " and the Jews marvelled, say- 
ing, How knoweth this man letters having never 
learned ? Jesus answered them, and said. My doctrine 
is not mine, but his that sent me. If an^^ man willeth 
to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether 
jt be of Grod; or whether I speak of myself." 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 47 

His Doctrine Opposed to Orientalism. — This doc- 
trine of God as the living* Father of man and the indwell- 
ing* of His Spirit in the souls of His children to guide 
and instruct them as thej^ are obedient to His leading, 
which on all occasions was emphasized by Jesus, is 
diametrically opposed to the thought of God as enter- 
tained and taught by the modern interpreters of 
Oriental Theosophj^, as will be seen from their own 
declarations, quoted in another place. 

The Oriental doctrines of re-incarnation and Karma 
belong together; and each is a necessity to the other. 
But the doctrine of forgiveness and immediate restor- 
ation taught by Jesus and especially emphasized in 
the parable of the prodigal son, absolutely antagonizes 
these doctrines. 

Differing Ideals Involved.— Here, then, are two op- 
posing- ideals for man involving different methods of 
attainment, and based upon different conceptions of 
God, both of which are claimed to be the teaching of 
illuminated minds. The illumination in the one case is 
believed to be attained through the immediate inspira- 
tion of omniscient wisdom, the other being* reached by 
the unaided effort of men who deny the existence of a 
supreme intelligence and the possibility of such an in- 
spiration. Which shall we accept — not necessarily as 
an arbitrary and final authority, but as a basis of 
study and effort, and the most reliable guide in the 
study ? If both claims are allowed, Ave have Divine 
inspiration as the basis of one teaching*, and human 
speculation as the basis of the other. 

Discrimination Needed.— These differing claims are 



48 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

not thus set in sharp contrast for the sake of exalting 
one to the detriment of the other, nor to appeal to 
any prejudice in favor of one or the other. Let each 
claim stand on its own merits. ''^ Every tree is known 
by his own fruits/^ said the Christ. This discrimina- 
tion has not alwa^^s been made in Theosophical 
studies, and the result has been much confusion of 
thought in the matter. Theosophy is properly thought 
of as the higher wisdom, " the understanding of God.'^ 
But the words God, Deity and Spirit do not mean in 
Oriental thought what they do in the New Testament 
and in Christian thought. The Eastern conception of 
God, Spirit, etc., is mostly pantheistic, which does not 
admit of the recognition of an intelligent superintend- 
ing Providence, though there is recognized a universal 
law of harmony which maintains the general equilib- 
rium and holds all things to a common order. 

Under this ruling conception, any degree of illumi- 
nation that enabled the seer to penetrate by occult 
vision into the secret processes of the cosmic order, 
and comprehensively observe and classify the working 
and results of the great law of evolution, would not be 
regarded as the result of a divine inspiration, but alto- 
gether of his own mental supremacy. On the other 
hand, under the Theistic conception, which admits of 
the possibility and the probability of immediate inspi- 
ration and revelation from the Deific mind, such illumi- 
nation and occult vision would naturally be regarded 
as the result of divine inspiration, especially if it had 
been sought as such. It is simply a question, whether 
the Christ and his apostles and the Hebrew and other 



THEOSOPHY, ORIEKTAL AKD OCCIDENTAL. 49 

prophets, were mistaken in tlie nature and source of 
their inspiration. It is also a question, admitting the 
Theistic doctrine to be the correct one, whether the 
prejudg-ment of the Eastern mind against the reahty 
of a supreme IntelUgence and direct providence, and 
therefore the possibility of a divine inspiration, would 
not of itself be sufficient to shut his mind to such in- 
spiration, even though he should attain a high degree 
of psychic develoiDment and occult power and insight. 

A Safe Leader. — It would appear that unless the 
claim for the supreme realization of Jesus through 
divine guidance and help be proven a myth, and the 
teaching accredited to him a fallac}', that his leader- 
^ship, doctrine and method must prove the most direct 
and helpful x)ossible to us. It is for this reason that 
we seek to set them forth in clear, full contrast with 
the highest and best the world presents outside of 
him. If we succeed in this, we shall help the earnest 
seeker after the higher realization to intelligently^ 
choose that course which shall most speedil3^ and 
surely secure him the divinest results in personal ex- 
perience. The fundamental difference in the basic 
teaching of the Christian and the Oriental Theosoph^^ 
necessarily involves a corresponding difference in their 
ideal of attainment, as w^ell as in their means and 
methods of realization. 

The True Method. — Allowing tlie chiim of Theoso- 
phy under whatever name. Oriental or OccidiMilal, 
Aryan or Christian, as liokling the key to tlie liigluM- 
wisdom and attainment, it nuist be borne in mind that 
justice cannot be done its study without the recogni- 



60 THE PATH\\"AY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tion and observance of the following- important consid- 
erations : 

First; since the higher wisdom and understanding 
can be reached onh^ by interior and exceptional pro- 
cesses, Theosophy has of necessity a twofold charac- 
ter; it is both exoteric and esoteric. It must have an 
external form of doctrine and method for neophytes, as 
well as its internal understanding and higher esoteric 
wisdom mastered onl}" b}^ initiates or Hierophants. 

Second; as the esoteric wisdom can be reached only 
through the opening of the higher understanding by 
inward illumination and personal spiritual realization, 
it cannot be exotericalh^ taught or apprehended. The 
external teaching of Theosoph^^ is therefore of necessity* 
confined to the symbolic and philosophic presentation 
of doctrine as oracularly given by the Masters or Illumi- 
nati; and its study to the consideration and practical 
application of the laws, conditions and methods to be 
observed in securing the needed illumination. 

Thus the exoteric teaching and study of Theosophy 
is seen to be a first necessarj^ step in opening to the 
mind the higher ideal of attainment proposed, and to 
aw^aken interest and desire, and thus prepare for and 
lead to practical effort at realization. 

Third; this practical effort, as experience has shown, 
is best made under the guidance of such as have at- 
tained some degree of illumination and personal real- 
ization. The esoteric wisdom and personal realization 
attained by inspired souls can, however, never be 
directh^ imparted to others, even by the most fully 
illuminated. They can only demonstrate its truth and 



I 



THEOSOPHY, OmEKTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 51 

reality tliroug-li personal experience, and by precept 
and example lead men to and help them in practical 
personal effort at realization. 

This was all the Christ could do. He said to his 
immediate disciples even at the last, " I have 3^et many 
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 
Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he 
will guide you into all truth: . . . and he will show 
you things to come.^' ''^ These things have T spoken 
unto 3"ou, being yet present with 3^ou. But the Com- 
forter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will 
send in my name^^ [the Christ or anointing Spirit], 
he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to 
your remembrance [recognition and understanding], 
" whatsoever I have said unto you.^^ In these words 
the great Teacher himself announced the necessity' of 
turning* to and depending- finally and onl}^ upon the 
true interior and spiritual method of reaching the 
higher knowledge and wisdom. 

Here also he defines and names the revealing or 
illuminating Spirit, '' The Comforter which is the Holy 
Spirit," '' Even the Spirit of truth wiiicli proceedeth 
from the Father.'' He also points out the necessit^^ 
of this illuminating or rcv^ealing^ Spirit, to interpret 
and bring to the understi ending of his disciples, even 
the significance of his own words and teaching to 
them. When this revealing Si)irit is come to you, 
"He shall take of mine f,nd sliall show it unto you. 
All things that the Fathi^r hath aiHMuini*: tluMvfore, 
said I, that he shall take of uiin(% and sliall show it 
unto you." In thes(^ wo'ds he iiitiuiates, or rather 



52 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

bolclh^ asserts^ that no secret of the Father was held 
from his illuminated soul^, 3^et such could not be ex- 
oterically taug'ht, or directh^ imparted by him to 
them. He could only lead them to and prepare them 
for the immediate inward revelation from the Father, 
as he himself had received it. 

The Keys of the Kingdom. — In this specific instruc- 
tion the Lord Christ gave to His immediate disciples,- 
and to all that should follow, the kej^s of the kingdom 
which He had promised them, and for which his pre- 
vious teaching* had prepared them. In this also is 
shown the g"reat truth so stoutly emphasized by 
George Fox, the modern apostle of the ''inward light,'^ 
that '' no man can understand insiDired Scripture onh' 
as he is in the same spirit from which they were 
given.^" 

The fatal mistake of Christian theology has been in 
attemj)ting to formulate and teach the esoteric wis- 
dom or things of the Spirit, to the external understand- 
ing by external methods. The historic church from 
apostolic times thus stopped in the exoteric or exter- 
nal, and became entangled in "'the letter which kill- 
eth,'' and so failed to reach '' the Spirit '^ which '' giveth 
life.'" " Can the blind lead the blind ? shall they not 
both fall into the ditch ? '' These significant words of 
the Master have found abundant illustration and ful- 
fillment in the church that bears his name, especially 
in the blinding curse of its ecclesiastical despotism, 
which demands, in the name of God's anointed, the 
blind acceptance of speculative opinions on purely ex- 
ternal and arbitrarv authoritv. 



Ik 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 58 

Theolog-ians have forgotten that '^ if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his/' He who 
has the ^'^ Spirit of Chrisf will dwell and walk in such 
unity with the Father, that he will receive immediate 
inspiration, and in due time permanent illumination 
from his Spirit. The Christ Spirit is the anointing- 
and illuminating Spirit of the Father's love and wis- 
dom which the great Teacher promised should be real- 
ized in the experience of all his faithful followers. 
Whoever receives and comes to possess that Spirit, as 
did the Master, shall be as the Master in realization, 
insight and mastery. '' The disciple is not above his 
master : but every one that is perfect shall be as his 
master/' were the words of the Christ. 

No Arbitrary Authority. — Neither the Christ nor 
Apostolic inspiration w^ere to be accepted as the final 
revelation and authority to others; nor their realiza- 
tion and experience as a substitute for personal expe- 
rience in others, as theology has taught, but rather as 
examples and encouragement for all, and a divine call 
unto each and all to follow their example. '' He that 
followefch me," said the Master, "shall not walk in 
darkness, but shall have the light of life." ''He that 
belie veth on me, the works that I do shall he do also." 

Until this discrimination between the external and 
mternal, or the sensuous and spiritual understanding, 
the letter and the spirit, is kept in mind and observed, 
and the necessity of spiritual illumination and per- 
sonal realization to the liigher understanding are rec- 
ognized and sought for, no real advance can be nuide 
in the study and practice of Theosophy, whether 



64 THE iPATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Oriental or Occidental. This is the key to all genuine 
Apostolic insight and experience^, whether Christian or 
Aryan. ^''The natural man receiveth not the things 
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto 
him; neither can he know them because they are 
spiritually discerned.'^ 

The Spiritual Understanding, — Spiritual discern- 
ment and esoteric wisdom are secured or acquired only 
by the awakening and coming forth of the spiritual 
nature — latent in all — through the process of what in 
the New Testament is called ^'^ regeneration/^ under 
the immediate influence of the Divine Spirit. This 
emancipates the soul from the bondage of flesh and 
sense^ and the limitations of the sense perception and 
understandings by opening the intuitions and inspira- 
tions of the spiritual nature^, and lifting the whole man 
through transformation into the freedom and power 
of the spiritual life. 

Other Claims to Revelation.— Reference has been 
made to Judaism and Mohammedanism also as claim- 
ing a Divine Eevelation for the basis of their religion. 
Allowing all that they involve^ neither of these claims 
necessarily implies, as many suppose, a flnal and all- 
inclusive revelation. In no case has this ever been 
claimed by a single genuine seer or prophet for his 
own inspiration. The claim of infallibility and finality 
for any prophet, book or church, is a fictitious assumr- 
tion of theologians and ecclesiastics. The Christ him- 
self aflirmed the possibility of his followers reaching a 
higher attainment than his own on earth. Divine 
inspiration is in no sense miraculous as will be shown; 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 55 

it depends upon the spiritual impressibility of the 
individual receiving- it. This, like every other func- 
tion of soul or bod}^, may be developed and perfected 
by cultivation and exercise, or repressed and blunted 
by neg-lect and sin. It has, however, without doubt 
been spontaneously exercised, like other powers of the 
soul, in total ignorance of this law, giving rise to the 
idea of special favoritism on the part of Deity. 

Divine Revelation Progressive. — Divine inspiration 
is of necessity an experience of degrees; hence revela- 
tion of and from God is correspondingly^ progressive, de- 
pending upon the degree of spritual impressibility, and 
w^hat may and should be the ever-increasing receptiv- 
ity and enlarging capacity of the soul to receive and 
appropriate. The extent of divine revelation to man, 
then, depends upon the advancing" degrees of spiritual 
inspiration and corresponding illumination reached by 
him, from the humbler seers and prophets up to 
the full illumination of the Christ, '' The Word made 
flesh." Therefore, without den^ang- a divine inspira- 
tion and some degree of spiritual illumination to any 
who may claim it, we may without presumption — with 
the record of the world's prophets before us — place 
Jesus in position among these illuminated sons of God 
as a sun among the planets. The light tliat has been 
fragmentary and partial in others came to full perfec- 
tion in him. Hence all of genuine illumination and 
personal realization of the divine, ever sought for by 
others, was fulfilled and included in his ilhimiiiation. 

The True and All-Incliisive Theosopliy. — The at- 
tainment of esoteric wisdom under any teaching or 



56 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

method is confessedly^ a thing' of degrees, depending 
upon the advancement of the individual seeker. The 
Oriental method ignores divine help and sympathy; 
while the Christ method recognizes and adopts it. If 
the Christ conception of God in His Fatherhood and 
providence is truth, and his experience of direct com- 
munion with and illumination from the Father's Spirit 
was a reality, and as claimed by him an example for 
all, then there is no presumption in the claim of su- 
periority for his method, and no argument is needed 
for its defence. If, on the other hand, it is assumed, 
that the Christ and his Apostles were mistaken as to 
the nature and source of their inspiration and power, 
still their method under this conception was preemi- 
nently successful, and its results in their divinely ex- 
alted and consecrated lives stand out in marked con- 
trast above any other in the world's history. This of 
itself is presumptive evidence of the truth of their 
claim. 

If the Christ claim is true, the method he presents 
for its demonstration in personal experience is consist- 
ent with the claim, and opens the door of its possibility 
to all, since under it man is not left to his own unaided 
effort, but is assured of the co-operation of a divine 
sympathy and help. Since, then, the Christ method 
demands as radical personal effort, self-denial and con- 
secration as a basis for the divine s^anpathy and help 
as the most austere Orientalist can possibly exact; 
and since this promise of divine co-operation on these 
conditions tends to stimulate and exalt the faith of 
the seeker, whether it is based in truth or delusion, it 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 57 

certainly has this advantage over that of the Oriental, 
which denies to the seeker this divine assurance. 

Again, as the only possible demonstration of the 
truth of either claim is in personal experience and the 
fruits of that experience before the world, simply as 
claims upon the world's attention, they stand upon an 
equal footing. The Christian claim has supreme ad- 
vantage in the hope and faith it encourages, and the 
lofty examples it presents in the lives of the Master 
and his Apostles, and in all his faithful followers, and 
their practical work in and for the world. It is an 
undeniable truth that no one can follow faithfully the 
example and teaching of the Christ — which were con- 
sistent one with the other — without becoming both a 
better and a wiser man, with no possibility^ of being 
mxade worse, and that if divine guidance and illumina- 
tion are jiossible to man under anj^ teaching, they will 
be tlie most effectively secured under the leading of 
the Christ. Hence we do not hesitate to claim that 
the esoteric wisdom and divine realization promised 
in tlie Theosoph}^ of the Christ, embraces all and more 
than is possible of attainment under any other teach- 
ing. 

Truth Its Own Defence.— It is not denied that a 
high degree of illumination, mental supremacy, and 
personal master}^ may be and have been attained by 
the processes adopted b^^ certain Eastern mystics, 
without the recognition of and personal di^pendence 
upon a divine sympathy and co-operation. Striking 
and well-authenticated facts with the principles and 
(^\j)la nation of these experiences will be fully and fairly 



58 THE PATH\YAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

presented in another place. We cannot afford in this 
important study to ig-nore any fact of experience bear- 
ing* upon the higher powers and possibiUties of the 
human soul, and the mastery of its environments in 
the present world. The undoubted attainment in oc- 
cult science and mastery by a class of Eastern Adepts 
throws a flood of light upon the higher ps3^chic powers 
of man; and, as we shall show, it is impossible for 
properly prepared minds to follow their science and 
practice faithfully without achieving the most remark- 
able results in personal experience. We do not here 
refer to the study and practice of magic and magical 
arts, nor any form of necromanc3^ or sorcery; but to 
the deep search into the m^^steiy of being, and the 
lofty and consecrated effort after the highest realiza- 
tion and the true science of life b^^ the real Magi and 
Sages of the East. Nevertheless, with the open exam- 
ple of the Christ and his victorious life before us, and 
his supreme testimony of having found the living God 
and Father of men, through immediate revelation and 
personal communion, and the confession of the Eastern 
Adept that he has not found the God and Father of 
the Christ, we shall insist that the Eastern ideal and 
method fails, as it ever must fail, of reaching the high- 
est attainment and perfect result, which can only be 
found through the following of the Christ. 

It is not difffcult to show the reason and justice of 
the claim made by the Master for himself, when from 
the altitude of his divine experience and perfect at- 
tainment he said,''''! am the way, the truth and the 
life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me/' 



I 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 59 

While his life and work before the world, as con- 
trasted with all others^ was the demonstration of tlie 
truth of this claim^ he. bids all demonstrate it in their 
own experience b}^ coming- to the Father throug-h the 
following- of his example and instruction, assuring 
them, that they shall thus " have the light of life/' and 
do the works he did. That this has not been demon- 
strated in the experience of the g-reat mass of liis pro- 
fessed followers was no fault of the Christ, nor evidence 
that his promise may not be made g'ood in universal 
experience. We claim and hope to show that his doc- 
trine and method have not been fairly tried, because 
neither understood nor applied by the church that 
bears his name. 

A few faithful souls in all the centuries since the 
Apostolic days have held the key and have entered, in 
greater or less degree, into mj^stic fellowship with 
their ascended Lord in this divine realization, but 
such have ever received the ban and persecution of tlie 
church. Nevertheless the time is at hand wlien the 
world will awake to the true messag-e of the Clirist, 
and catching- a g-limpse of his divine docti'ine and 
method, enter into the realization of its life and pow(^i\ 
The spirit, power and process that made Jesus what 
he was, will do the same essentially for all men wiio 
will faithfully follow his example under them. 

Continued Ministry of Christ.— The recognition of 
the still active s,ympathy and special miiiisl ry of tlu^ 
ascended Christ, who in his parting promisi^ assurtHl 
his followers, that to tlie end of liiiu* he would he 
with them in spirit and power to help all who oi)eiuHl 



60 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIlilT. 

themselves to liis ministry^ is a precious source of 
comfort and courage to the true Christian Theosophist. 
This promise imphes also^ that all who have risen into 
fellowship with him in the after-life, constitute a 
mig'hty brotherhood of Spirit in active sympath}^ and 
ministry, working* in his name for the universal awak- 
ening and spiritual emancipation of men on earth and 
in the spheres. Nor will this ministry cease until all 
souls in all worlds are brought to the knowledge of 
the Father in the realization of their own divine son- 
ship and brotherhood with that of all men. In this 
recognition of a divine and angelic sympathy and 
direct ministration in all human effort after divine 
realization by Christian Theosophy, and its denial b^'^ 
the Oriental, lies the fundamental difference in the 
character of the two. 

The Basis of all Philosophy. — The conception which 
men hold of the nature and character of God, or of 
the ^' Cause and Providence of all that is,^^ to which 
this name or its equivalent is given, is the basis of 
their philosoph^^ and the inevitable key of their inter- 
pretation and understanding of nature and life. 
Hence man^s thought of God necessarily determines 
his philosophj^ of his own nature, possibilities and des- 
tiny. One must correspond with the other. The doc- 
trine of Jesus concerning the immediate divine possi- 
bilities of man was based upon and the logical result of 
his understanding of God, as not only the Supreme 
Being and immediate controller of all things, but also 
as the immediate Father of mankind. As the imme- 
diate Father of men. His nature and attributes were 



THEOSOPHY, 0K1E^:TAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 61 

of necessity engermed potentially in the human spirit. 
On this basis alone rests his exalted ideal of attain- 
ment possible to man, as well as the law and metliod 
of its divine realization. Having* demonstrated in his 
own experience the essential truth of this doctrine of 
God and man, it became the inspiration of his loft}- 
enthusiasm and the burden of his message to the 
world. 

The New Ideal. — After the opening of tlie heavens 
unto Jesus at his baptism b}^ John, and the perma- 
nent spiritual illumination that followed, through 
which came his final mastery over temptation and 
self, we read that, "" He returned in the power of the 
Spirit into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the king- 
dom of God, and saying. The time is fulfilled, and the 
kingdom of God is at hand.'^ He thus beg-an his 
public ministry by proclaiming the advent of a new 
kingdom as at hand; that the new kingdom was to 
be brought forth under a divine ministr}^ through 
human effort and co-operation, and thus dependent 
upon that co-operation. Hence, he called upon all 
men everywhere to turn from their absorbing atten- 
tion in other things, and give themselves heart and 
soul to the bringing in of the new order. This, he 
affirmed, would secure to them the true riches, and all 
that was essential to make life perfect; the tinu^ was 
fulfilled and the world was ready for and in need of 
its administration. 

But what was the nature of the kingdom whicli this 
newly ilhiminated prophet announced as at liand and 
for whicli the time had come ? Was it a new t Iieo- 



62 TllK TATllWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

cratic government for the Jews as the chosen people 
of God — an external and local kingdom among and 
perhaps over the other kingdoms of the world, for 
which the Jews were looking ? or was it a new order 
and kingdom of life, which, in its evolution and estab- 
lishment, should embrace the entire humanity ? In 
an unbiased study of the Master's life and teaching 
from the standpoint of modern enlightenment, we may 
see what it was difficult and perhaps impossible for 
men at that time to see, that the latter suggestion 
was really what was involved in the Master's promise 
of the new kingdom. 

A New Cycle of Evolution. — The evolution of life in 
the world had risen through successive cj^cles of activ- 
ity, each marking the development of a new and dis- 
tinct kingdom, up to the level of self-consciousness in 
man — the vegetable, animal and human, three distinct 
kingdoms or levels of life above the mineral. 

The self-conscious, progressive intelligence of man, 
however, wiiile he recognized his position and suprem- 
acy over all the kingdoms below him, was still mainl^^ 
circumscribed to and concerned in his relations with 
the world that was external to himself; 3^et having a 
dim, haunting, prophetic instinct of something higher 
and beyond. Out of this sprang his conceptions of a 
possible state of existence beyond death, and out of 
the speculations thus engendered, came most of his 
systems of religious thought and worship. In the in- 
spired souls of seers and prophets this blind spiritual 
instinct had here and there expanded into a more or 
less clear and open vision of the diviner realization 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. G3 

possible to man in the fleshy and ultimately to be his 
in actual experience. These being- exceptional experi- 
ences and prophetic^ were necessarily misunderstood 
by the masses; so that when the long-prophesied Mes- 
siah appeared to open that higher kingdom of hfe to 
men and inaugurate its beginning, he was misunder- 
stood and rejected by the fai^ored people, the very 
children of the prophets, who ought to have welcomed 
and entered heartily with him into the fulfilment of his 
mission. 

Rejected hy the Rabbis and leaders of the people, a 
little band of disciples from the common classes were 
finally inducted by him into a good degree of under- 
standing and exiDcrience of the new and higher life he 
came to open to the world. These, after his cruel 
martyrdom, following liis instructions and under his 
spiritual guardianship and leading, faithfully labored, 
in the face of the most bitter opposition and persecu- 
tion, and finally of mart^^rdom, to carr^^ forward the 
work he had begun. As the Master himself was mis- 
understood and misjudged, it is not strange that bis 
disciples in turn should be misunderstood and mis- 
interpreted by after generations in the cliurch the^' 
planted. Thus the original ''gospel of the kingdom 
of God,'' announced by the Master for reahzation in 
this world, has for more than seventeen centuries hccn 
interpreted by the church that bears liis nanu^ to mean 
salvation in the heaven and from tlie hell of another 
world. On this huge misconception has the mist iikcMi 
work of the historic churcli Ixmmi foundtMl, and \\\c vc:\\ 
work of theClirist negl(»cttHl by liis would-be followers. 



64 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Turning" from the speculative doctrines of theolog-^^, 
and reading* with unbiased mind the hfe and words 
recorded of the Master^ no one can now mistake the 
purport of his message. His gospel was for this 
world and the present time^ in fulfilment of all mil- 
lennial prophecy ; not a future world nor a future age 
in this world. It was to be realized there and then; 
and still to be reaUzed here and now. ^^Take no 
thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take 
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the 
day is the evil thereof.'^ '' The time is fulfilled ^' was 
the new watchword, ''and the kingdom of God is at 
hand/' — may be realized at once. To-morrow is born 
of to-day; surely, then, if to-day is made perfect we 
need have no fear or care for the morrow\ "Now is 
the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation.^' 
Salvation is realization; hence an insurance ticket of 
safety for another world is not a present salvation, nor 
the realization promised bj^ the Christ in this world; 
nor the fulfilment of millennial prophecy in the en- 
thronement of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in 
heaven, through the advent and work of the Christ. 
With the advent of the Messiah the time had come 
for the fulfilment of this prophecy in the beginning of 
another cycle of advancing life, by the evolution of its 
deeper, latent and yet unexpressed functions of spirit- 
ual consciousness and power. 

Thus far each successive kingdom of life had been 
characterized b^^ a ncAV and higher type of organism 
for the embodiment and expression of its functions. 
But the ultimate and highest possible type of organ- 



THEOSOPHY, OKIKKTAL AKb OCCIDENTAL. 65 

ism had been reached in man with the birth and 
org-anic embodiment of his intellectual and moral 
powers^ though imperfect in development^ because of 
the yet imperfect development of the embodied spirit- 
ual man. For the next cycle of evolutionary^ activit}^ 
and development, therefore, no other or different kind 
of organism was needed, this being capable of indefi- 
nite improvement and ultimate perfection through the 
further evolution and organic expression of the en- 
germed powers yet latent in the spiritual man it em- 
bodied. All that was 3^et needed was the quickening 
and bringing forth of the divine germ of spirituality, 
potential in the human spirit as the offspring of God. 
This would spiritualize, illuminate and exalt all the 
powers of man, soul and bodj^, and lift and expand his 
consciousness from the plane of the sensuous life and 
the outward world, to the recognition and realization 
of his corresponding relations with an inner spiritual 
kingdom, the veritable kingdom of God. The awaken- 
ing and bringing forth of the latent spiritual life to 
organic activit^^ and supreniac^^ in man, would so 
transform the character of the individual and social 
life, b}^ bringing them under the higher law of the 
divine and heavenl}^, as to constitute a new and dis- 
tinct kingdom or order of life, tlic long-propliesied 
order of the sons and daughters of God in the earth. 

The Higher Realization Itei^iiii.— Jesus liaving 
reached the full realization of this divine estate, stood 
not merely as its propliet, but its representative in 
actual illustration bc^foiv the world; and the trans- 
cendent beauty and power of that life were manifest 



66 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

from tlie first. "And tliey were astonished at his doc- 
trine^, for his word was with power." "'And the^^ were 
all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying. 
What a word is this! for with authority and i)ower 
he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come 
out. And the fame of him went out into eveiy place 
of the country round about.*' ''And Jesus went about 
all the cities and villages, teaching in their syna- 
gogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and 
healing every sickness and every disease among the 
people/'" ''And great multitudes followed him, and he 
healed them all/'' 

Dwelling in the power of the new life liimself, he 
authoritatively announced the possibility of its imme- 
diate realization by all, saying, " The time is fulfilled/^ 
and called upon men to enter at once upon the work 
of regeneration that was to secure it. Let nothing 
stand in the way of its attainment, nor divert atten- 
tion from the effort. "Be not anxious therefore, say- 
ing, AVhat shall we eat ? or What shall we drink? or, 
Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? (For after all these 
things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father 
knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But 
seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness; and all these thing's shall be added unto you.'" 

The Christ Basis of Faith.— From the altitude of 
his opened spiritual vision, the great Teacher recog- 
nized the life in nature, that mysterious energy that 
'•'clothes the grass of the field," and builds up the 
structures of the organic world: and the wisdom and 
goodness in that mysterious providence that feeds the 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 67 

sparrows and all the moving* forms of life, as the ijii- 
mediate manifestation of the immanent God and 
Father of men. To this evidence of the omnipresent 
Father he pointed as the true basis of human faith, 
saying-, " Behold the fowls of the air : for the^^ sow not, 
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your 
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much bet- 
ter than they ? '' '' Consider the lilies of the field, how 
theygrow^; they toil not, neither do tliey spin; and 
yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, 
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, 
and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
more clothe you, O 3^e of little faith ? ^' 

To his illuminated soul, God as infinite Spirit, vvas 
not only immanent and working in, but also holding- 
direct and immediate providence over all the processes 
and conditions of life and being, so perfect that not a 
sparrow falls to the ground without His notice, and 
the very hairs of our head are numbered before Him. 
He recognized all the normal processes of life in crea- 
tion and providence as the manifest expression of the 
Father's will, and hence that man should will to do 
His will and on\j that, and thus be one with Hinu He 
recognized the will and purpose of God in creation, 
and in man as His child, to be infinite good-will, which 
fulfilled or brought to realization in man through his 
co-operation, would make him perfect even as his 
Father in heaven is pei-fect. In this ircognition of 
man as the immediate oll'spring of God is ntHu\ssarily 
involved the recognition of the essential spiriluahty 




68 THE PATHA\^AY OF THE SPIRIT. 

of his being, partaking- potentially^ of the nature and 
attributes of God, and inherently capable, therefore, 
of unfolding into all the perfection of being and su- 
premacy that characterize the Father. 

Not Anthropomorphic. — There is no anthropomor- 
phism involved in this conception and teaching of 
Jesus concerning God, as some have supposed and 
affirmed. The conception of God's Fatherhood and 
man^s divine sonship and possible communion with 
and revelation from God, based upon the spiritual 
nature of both, eliminates all anthropomorphic defini- 
tions and limitations, and opens the sense of the 
boundlessness of the Father's nature and kingdom, 
and the inherent boundless possibilities of man as His 
child. 

In his constant reference to God as the omnipresent 
life and energy of creation, Jesus did not attempt the 
impossible feat of defining or explaining the nature 
and substance of God. Naming a being or thing does 
not necessarily define or explain it, though the name 
should give the best possible representation or expres- 
sion of the thing named. Who knows anything of the 
absolute nature of oxygen or electricity^ — much less of 
Spirit, from their names? To define successfully the 
nature and substance of Deity would bring Him within 
the compass and analysis of the human mind — an ob- 
vious impossibility. 

The Esoteric Statement. — In the twofold affirmation 
of Jesus, that '' God is spirit; and they that worship him 
must worship in spirit and in truth,'' both the exoteric 
and esoteric character of the teaching involved are 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 69 

clearly implied. In the first clause — " God is spirit '' — 
is implied the invisible, transcendental and incompre- 
hensible nature of His substance and Being-; and is 
g-iven as the only full and final exoteric statement 
possible of God as a Divine Being-, and the One omni- 
present life and realit^^ of all that is. It implies, also, 
that Avhile the Divine presence and activitA^ in all the 
processes of creation and life are immediately manifest 
to the senses and intellect of man, and should be rec- 
ognized as the true explanation of being; j^et the 
transcendental nature and actual Being of God in His 
omniscient wisdom and eternal goodness, is infinite]3'^ 
above all His manifestations to the senses and intel- 
lect, and so beyond and above their perception and 
analysis. 

The Esoteric Method. — The second clause— ''And 
they that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit 
and in truth '' — implies that while God as actual being 
and the Father of mankind may not be revealed to 
man through the senses, nor the pure intellectual ap- 
prehension; yet that man may have immediate ac- 
cess to and revelation from God through his own in- 
most and spiritual nature, which relates liim to God 
as child to parent. It is, therefore, through love and 
loving in the personal realization of tliis divine rela- 
tionship, not through philosophy and tliinking, that 
man is to have open access to and revelation from tlie 
Father, and thus hold a living and unbroken commiir- 
ion and fellowship with Him. 

The law of the Spirit, and of tlie spiritual life luul of 
all spiritual relations; is the law of love, sympatliy and 



70 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

ministration. It is the law of the life of God in man 
and of its immediate spiritual activity in the soul. It 
is, therefore, the law of brotherhood and fellowship, 
the true law of man's relation to man. Hence the 
words of the beloved disciple, "" Beloved, let us love one 
another : for love is of God ; and every one that loveth 
is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth 
not, knoweth not God ; for God is love. . . . He that 
dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him."' 
Thus man can know God only through love; and 
when this is actually awakened toward God in the 
realization of His Fatherhood, it is of necessity corre- 
sponding-l^^ awakened toward man as brother, because 
the brotherhood of man is involved in the Fatherhood 
of God. Hence, also the loving- Apostle adds: ''We 
love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I 
love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar : for he 
that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how 
can he love God, whom he hath not seen ? '' " No man 
liath seen God at any time. If we love one another, 
God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 
Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, 
because he hath given us of his Spirit.'' '' We know 
that we have passed from death unto life, because we 
love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother 
abideth in death." ''Hereby know we the spirit of 
truth and the spirit of error." This is the esoteric law 
of all true spiritual illumination, revelation and per- 
sonal realization — the law of all real and permanent 
masteiy. 
A New Life Involved.— When the Jewish Rabbi 



i m 



THEOSOPHY, OKIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 71 

came to inquire of Jesus concerning- the doctrine of 
the kingdom of God he was preaching-, the Master re- 
plied at once, that unless a man was born of the Spirit, 
he could obtain no practical knowledg-e of God or of 
His king-dom. It must be experimental. It can be ac- 
quired only throug-h a living- experience. It is simply 
and necessarily a matter of personal, spiritual realiza- 
tion. We may make and accept the exoteric state- 
ment that God is Spirit, and we may intellectually 
understand and believe that as such He is the invisi- 
ble, all-pervading- life, energ-y and controlling* intelli- 
g-ence of creation; but we can have no actual realiza- 
tion of this truth and of its power in our lives, except 
throug-h personal contact and sympathetic union with 
God in and throug-h our spiritual nature. This is an 
inward esoteric or spiritual activitj^ and experience. 

To accommodate the external understanding-, the 
exoteric statement is made, that God is the indwelling- 
and essential life and intellig-ence of the universe and 
of man. The reverse order of statement would be the 
esoteric understanding- and the actual truth. ^'In 
Him we live, move, and have our being-.^' All thing-s 
exist in and from Him. All that which constitutes 
creation is but a manifestation or expression of Him; 
yet He is infinitely more than is expressed. '' For tlie 
invisible things of him from the creation of the world 
are clearly seen, being- understood by tlie tilings that 
are made, even his eternal power and Godliead.^^ 

The Higher Understanding.— The stateuu iit *^ God 
is spirit'^ does not imply a Spii-it, a Divine Individual- 
ity among yet over other individualities, but is made 



72 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

in the ultimate and exalted sense of Supreme Spirit — 
Impersonal, Universal and Limitless Being-. All prin- 
ciples of being including- that of personality, inhere of 
necessity in the orig-inal, divine and all-embracing- 
Spirit, or they could not become manifest in external 
expression or individual embodiment. Hence the two- 
fold principle of sex which comes forth in divided em- 
bodiment in men and women, seeking* to become re- 
united in their blended lives, shines in the divine nature 
as the omniscient wisdom and infinite love — Father 
and Mother Principle — which makes the all-Father one 
with His creation. To the spiritual understanding- 
God is the all-embracing- unit3^ and harmony of being-. 
Hence the masculine terms ''Father" and ''Him" are 
used only for the convenience of external speech, not 
in any sense of the limitations of personality^ and sex 
as applied to a human father, since both the father 
and mother nature are included in Him as the all- 
embracing- One. 

Spiritual Freedom.— The illuminated soul becomes 
emancipated from the limitations of external defini- 
tions, and the sense of limitation as applied to person- 
alities and things, when dealing with great spiritual 
realities. The Divine Spirit is recognized as the ex- 
haustless fountain of all life, the potency of all energ^^, 
the principle of all order and law^, the light of all in- 
telligence and wisdom, the immediate inspiration of all 
love and sympathy, the Ego and consciousness of all 
personality, 3^et infinite and exhaustless in His own 
being. He ever remains, so far as "the creation" is 
concerned, the infinitely unexpressed. Hence the Im- 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 73 

personal and Divine becomes personal only to the con- 
sciousness of the human personality, because of the 
individuality^ and limitations of the human powers 
that thus reflect and express that which on the plane 
of the infinite is necessarily and always Impersonal. 

" God is no respecter of persons.^' The very Imper- 
sonality of His Being" makes the manifestation of His 
love, wisdom and justice as universal, impartial and 
all -embracing- toward the beings and things of His 
creation, as is the influence of the sun upon the planets 
of its system. 

The Spiritual Standard. — Pure Spirit, even in man, 
is universal, impersonal and impartial in its nature 
and manifestation. Herein is the standard by which 
to estimate the measure of our attainment in spirit- 
uality. When the individualized faculties of the soul 
become quickened in the spirit which constitutes their 
essential life and power, and so lifted in their activities 
above the dominance of sensuous impressions, they 
become the organs and channels of a pure spiritual 
activity and expression, and the soul is raised above 
all local attachments, personal considerations and 
preferences, and so above all partiality of discrimina- 
tion and judgment. It then stands for universal love 
and impartial sympathy, and for absolute and impar- 
tial justice to alL 

The Apparent and the Real.— To the exoteric un- 
derstanding, the physical world secerns the only real 
and substantial world; and sensuous experience from 
contact with its apparently solid ]-(\aliti(\s tlu^ only 
experience worthy of practical aitiMitioii and sei^king; 



74: THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

while the realm and thing's of the spirit seem too in- 
tangible^ visionary and unreal to be grasped and made 
practical in experience. Esoteric enlightenment and 
experience, however, reverse all this and show the 
opposite to be the actual truth. It is seen that all 
that constitutes materiality is the result of activities 
that are invisible and spiritual in nature and origin. 
The very grossest elements of matter being reducible 
to invisibilit3^ — which indeed is their primordial condi- 
tion — are, for their condensation or precipitation so to 
speak, and their combinations into visible substance 
and formations, entireh^ dependent upon the operation 
of invisible forces, under the control and direction of 
a supreme Intelligence and Will. 

Thus, in the higher understanding, the supposed 
materialit}^ and substantiality of the things of the 
physical world, are found to be the actuallj^ tempo- 
rary, dependent and unstable things and states of 
being; while the realm and things of the Spirit are 
seen to be the onlj^ permanent, changeless and inde- 
structible realities. 

True Life Only in the Higher Realization,— The 
realization of this in personal experience, constitutes 
that true and permanent state of being, called in the 
Theosoph}^ of Jesus the ^'eternal life.^' 

This higher permanent realization is reached only 
through the awakening of the personal consciousness 
to the reality of the spiritual nature, and the inde- 
structible organism of the soul as the temple of God, 
and conforming the life and voluntary activities with 
the moral order of the divine economy, through unity 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AXD OCCIDENTAL. 75 

of spirit with the Father. To the higher spiritual 
perception and understanding-, the ph3^sical world and 
ph^^sical states of being are but circumscribed points 
of limitation in the play of special forces within the 
boundless sphere of spiritual energy and activity, and 
subserve a specific purpose and function in the univer- 
sal harmony and working of the divine economy. 

Individualization of the Human Spirit. — It is 
through the processes of the physical world thus in- 
stituted^ that Spirit becomes finally individualized and 
embodied in special organisms, which give birth to a 
personal consciousness. It is by this process the eter- 
nal Father brings forth children to Himself, bearing 
His image and likeness^ not in external form, but in 
essential nature and attributes. Man is thus brought 
forth under material limitations, and his spirit individ- 
ualized and awakened to consciousness, first on the ex- 
ternal and physical plane which gives him an estab- 
lished sense of personality and being, differentiated 
from all other forms and states of being. Can we 
conceive of any other conditions under which this re- 
sult would have been possible ? Can we conceive of a 
more appropriate starting point of a personality and 
consciousness thus born to a career of endless develop- 
ment in personal realization ? 

The Spiritual Organism.— In this individualization 
man becomes the embodiment of spiritual substance 
and principles in a living, indestructible organism, of 
which the physical body is the ext(M^nal form and also 
the mold and instrumentality of the individualization 
and dilTerentiation, The substance of tlie spiritual 



76 THE PATHWAY^ OF THE SPIRIT. 

org'anism^ of which the ph^^sical bod^^ is the material 
mold and phj^sical counterparty is of such an elastic 
and ethereal nature that it will ever yield and respond 
to every demand of the unfolding- life of the soul, as it 
seeks to expand the consciousness of being- and to 
enlarg-e the scope and sphere of its organic activities 
and powers. 

In this individualization of the spiritual organism 
and the soul's powers under the conditions and limita- 
tions of materiality, out of which springs the conscious- 
ness of differentiated personal being, the whole organic 
world from plant to man is made to play a part. 
The ascending gradations of living structure in the 
physical world culminating in the human body, serve 
a similar purpose in the evolution of man that the 
blade, stalk, and rudimental ear of corn serve in the 
evolution and final development of the full corn in the 
ear. Thus the blade typifies the vegetable kingdom; 
the stalk, the animal; the rudimentary ear, the human 
bod3^ Avith the first primary consciousness of physical 
being; and, finally, the full ripened corn in the ear, 
typifies the perfection of the indestructible spiritual 
organism and the higher consciousness of spiritual 
being as a child of God in the flesh. 

The Inward Oueness of Man With God.— The hu- 
man spirit in its differentiated consciousness of per- 
sonality and limitation, is not a spark, so to speak, 
struck off and separated from the Divine Spirit by its 
association with matter — as something outside of and 
antagonistic to Deit}^ All things, including matter, 
exist and have their legitimate place and function in 



ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 77 

the divine economy and are a necessar}^ part thereof. 
"While man is thus differentiated from tlie Father in 
consciousness of personal being-^ through the mdivid- 
ualization of his soul and its powers in a living- organ- 
ism, his spirit is not really separated from the Father's, 
but is actually so much of the Father's Spirit, special- 
ized within the limitations of an organism brought 
forth for this purpose. 

The personal consciousness is thus the specialization 
of life, intelligence, affection and moral sense, — attri- 
butes of spirit — in, through, and by an organism which 
serves both to individualize and embody them. Yet 
though the personal consciousness is held to the neces- 
sary limitations of the organism that gave it birth, 
and its first awakening is on the plane and within the 
circumscribed sphere of the physical senses, it has an 
inherent capacity for endless expansion ; because it is 
rooted in the boundlessness of the Father's being, and 
is itself the specialization of the Father's Spirit under 
these limitations. Hence the organism thus brought 
forth as an instrument for the individualization and 
development of the soul's powers and consciousness, 
must of necessity be not only indestructible, but di- 
vinely adapted to meet this eternally progressi\c» ilv- 
mand of the soul. The perfect adaptation of means 
to ends that characterizes every department of the 
divine economy, makes this supreme end of en^at ion 
an absolute certainty. 

Individual Immortality.— The necessary limita- 
tions of an orga;nism in which the human soul beeomes 
individualized and embodied as the olfspriiig of (ioil. 



78 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIEIT. 

however ethereal and progTessive that organism may 
be, will forever hold the embodied soul to its differen- 
tiated individuality and i)ersonal consciousness. The 
physical body being* but the org-anic matrix used in 
the formation and establishment of the indestructible 
spiritual organism, is of necessity temporarj' in nature 
and character. It serves a purpose in the primary- 
evolution of the soul and its permanent body similar 
to that of the husk in the evolution of the corn — '• the 
full corn in the ear.^' Hence the actual necessity and 
service of the physical body, and the outward world to 
which it relates the soul, can hardly be over-estimated, 
however temporary that service and necessity ma\' 
be. "Without these, so far as we can perceive, there 
would be no birth of immortal souls in indestructible 
organisms, for an endless career of unfolding life and 
progress in the Fathers kingdom. Let, then, the physi- 
cal body and this rudimentary sphere of our primary 
education and discipline in the school of the senses be 
duly appreciated and honored, by using them to tlie 
ends for which they were ordained and thus honored by 
the Father. 

The Second Birth ai)(l Spiritual Consciousness.— 
When the personality has become fully individualized 
and established in relation to the things of the out- 
ward world, and the powers of attention, reflection 
and will are sufficiently disciplined through sensuous 
exiDcrience to realize personal responsibility, the soul 
is ready for the kingdom of God. '* The time is ful- 
filled,'*' and the attention should be at once fulh^ 
aroused and directed to the higher activities and ex- 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 79 

periences awaiting the soul in its relations to the 
things of the Spirit. It should be made to realize its 
privilege as a child of God of entering into the full 
illumination, freedom and power of the spiritual life in 
the flesh. 

The Power Conferred. — This ideal and promise of 
spiritual supremacy in and over flesh and sensuous 
limitation is no flction given to mock and delude the 
seeker after God. We have its perfect demonstration 
in the living example of the Master. We see his ex- 
perience reproduced to a remarkable degree in his 
apostles and immediate followers; and also in all from 
that day to this, to the full degree in which that ex- 
ample and teaching have been followed. The realiza- 
tion of the spiritual life through divine illumination 
and communion, gives the higher understanding of and 
powder over all ph^^sical relations and conditions. All 
that is external and sensuous becomes subordinated 
to the higher law of the spiritual and divine, when this 
becomes the law of the personal life. The realizing 
sense of unity with God in spirit and purpose, gires 
that sense of impersonal being and oneness with the 
All, which renders personal and selfish considerations 
and the spirit of exclusiveness and condemnation ab- 
solutely impossible. Contact with the outward world 
and its multiplicity of objects nccessaril}^ awakens 
the sense of individuality among other individualities; 
while intercourse witli men gives the sense of person- 
ality and responsibility in relation to otlu^r p(M\sonali- 
ties. But the spiritual eons{*iousiu\ss, awakiMieii and 
established by oneness with the Father in spii-it, and 



80 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

the sense of impersonal being it gives, holds the soul 
when in contact with the outward world, and in inter- 
coarse with men, above all external and partial con- 
siderations, and all personal or unjust discriminations. 

While an external world of environment and societ^^ 
are necessar3^ for the individualization, discipline and 
education of the soul, conscious communion with and 
inspiration from the impartial Spirit and all-embrac- 
ing love of the Father are equall3" necessary to over- 
rule and direct that experience and discipline to the 
perfection of the personal life and character. '''All 
things work together for good to them that love God.^^ 
When the soul has finally attained that degree of di- 
vine serenity and harmony of life as its permanent 
state, the entire organism, including the body, will 
partake of the supremacy of that enthroned harmon^^, 
and be held secure against any i)ossible disturbance or 
physical disease. '" Thej^ shall take up serpents; and 
if they drink an}^ deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: 
they shall la}" hands on the sick, and thej^ shall re- 
cover.'" 

The Ideal Life. — This perfect life as exemplified by 
the Christ and his A^DOstles, Christian Theosophy prom- 
ises unto all through faith in and fidelity to the exam- 
ple and teaching of the Master. The immediate in- 
spiration, illumination a ad transforming power of the 
Father's Spirit, is promised to all consecrated effort 
after this attainment. Man thus becomes endued with 
wisdom and power from on high, through which he is 
given an intuitive knowledge of the occult forces of 
life and the personal mastery of his own organism and 



I 



THEOSOPHY, OHIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 81 

environments. He is then qualified to overcome and 
^'cast out'' all manner of physical and moral evil from 
the lives of men, and help them into the lig*ht, freedom 
and power of the spiritual hfe in the body. In other 
words the true disciple is to live the life and do the 
worlds of the Master and thus '^ be as his Master/^ 

Christian Theosophy proclaims this higher life of 
freedom and supremacy to be possible of attainment 
in the earthl^^ life of every one who has come to the 
full estate of the natural man. Great intellectual 
attainment is not required. While this is valuable in 
itself, the pride of human understanding* is indeed one 
of the g-reatest hindrances to true spiritual realization. 
'^^ Verily I say unto 3^ou, whosoever shall not receive 
the king-dom of God as a little child, he shall not enter 
therein. '^ The humble, child-like spirit of dependence 
upon and faith in the Father, coupled with supreme 
desire to know and do His will, are the essential quali- 
fications. On one occasion, after rebuking* the spirit 
of pride, haug-htiness, rebellion and self-sufflciencj^ of 
certain cities that had resisted his teaching- and ap- 
peal, ^^ Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these 
thing's from the wise and the prudent, and hast re- 
vealed them unto babes. Even so. Father; for so it 
seemed g-ood in tliy sig*ht.^^ 

K<arma and Re-incarnation. — The Easteiii Theoso- 
phy recog-nizing" no divine sympathy and help, does 
not embrace in its practic(i faith in and dc^piMuliMict^ 
upon a Divine power. Its dependcMiet* is ii|)on huniaii 
elTort alone, the specific clevelopmeiit of iiilenect and 
G 



82 THE l^ATilWAY 01^ THE SPIRIT. 

will. Kecog-nizing" no Divine love and sjanpathy, it 
sees no principle of forgiveness; and hence no healing* 
and restoration save through personal expiation. This 
is based upon the unalterable law of Karma, or law of 
consequences. As a man sows so shall he reap. And 
as in their pantheistic conception of Nature, the soul 
cannot attain to an individual spiritual existence until 
it has worked itself free from every taint of materialitj^ 
and sense, and freed its Kai'ma from all necessity" of 
further expiation in connection with matter, repeated 
physical incarnations are deemed a necessity and the 
only hope of final immortality. 

The Infinite Contrast. — Immediate forg-iveness, 
restoration and healing, through repentance, faith 
and the spirit of restitution and reformation, was the 
distinguishing characteristic of the Christ message. 
This was based wholly upon the divine sonship of 
man and the absoluteness of the love and power of 
the all- Father, whom giving does not impoverish nor 
withholding enrich. 

All material conditions and personal aberrations are 
as nothing before the supreme law and omnipotency 
of Spirit, the absoluteness of the Divine life and in finite 
love of the Father. The quickening, renewing and 
healing power of the Father's Spirit when thus in- 
voked, overrules the law of '''Karma,'' breaks the 
wheel of necessity and emancipates the personal life, 
setting the imprisoned captive free. ^^The Spirit of 
the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to 
preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to 
heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AXD OCCIDENTAL. 83 

captive^ and recovering- of sight to the bUncl;, to set at 
liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable 
year of the Lord/'^ These words the Lord Christ af- 
firmed were literally fulfilled in his personal experience 
and work. 

A Mistaken Philosophy. — The Eastern Magi and 
their follow^ers, blinded by a mistaken philosophy and 
zeal, are honestly misled in their supposed necessity 
for repeated earthly incarnations, and the long and 
severe discipline of asceticism, austerity and mortifica- 
tion of the flesh. This is not the spiritual w^ay either of 
attainment or of deliverance from sin. God is the liv- 
ing, sympathizing Father of men; Love boundless and 
quenchless is the absolute law of His life and His gov- 
ernment. The resources of His kingdom and provi- 
dence are infinite and exhaustless. Man is indeed the 
child of God and heir to His divine perfection of being 
and character. In his essential being he is Spirit. 
The elements of divine supremac}^ are potentially 
within him. Partakhig- of the Father's nature he 
has but to be loyal to this divine relationship through 
love and faith, to have all the latent possibilities of his 
being brought to complete fruition under the imme- 
diate inspiration and guidance of the Fatlier's love 
and wisdom. 

The demonstrotion of thisw^e hnx-^ein the living exam- 
ple of the Model Man and Beloved Son and Brother; 
corroborated by the experience of thousands wiio have 
sought to follow his example and instruction to the 
full extent in which they liave been faithful to tliese. 
Yet we must again say tliat his leaching and example 



84 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

have not been fully and faithfully followed hj the 
Church that bears his name^ either in doctrine or 
practice. Sectarianism, big-otry, intolerance, persecu- 
tion and martyrdom for opinion's sake, which have 
characterized its spirit since apostolic days, are anti- 
Christ. The doctrine of vicarious atonement and sub- 
stitution taugiit in his name for the gospel, is as 
foreign to his gospel of the kingdom of God and as 
opposed to its spirit and principle, as are the Eastern 
doctrines of re-incarnation and the absolute supremacy 
and inexorable character of the law of Karma. 

The Supreme Slessage.— While immediate forgive- 
ness and restoration were included and emphasized in 
^^the gospel of the kingdom,'' which applied to man on 
the sensuous plane as well as to the spiritual man, the 
supreme message was the promise of a new and higher 
level of life. It was to be a life of divine illumination, 
supremacy and perfection. This was to be reached 
through another c^^cle of evolution withhi the sphere 
of humanity itself, through which man was to be lifted 
from the plane of the sensuous life to the supreme 
level of the spiritual life. The means proposed for 
this higher spiritual evolution of men was spiritual 
reg-eneration. The principle of forgiveness and heal- 
ing for sin and disease is one thing; the principle of 
regeneration which lifts man through transformation 
to another and higher level and order of life is another 
and quite a different thing. The one delivers man 
from the effects of sin and disease, the other saves him 
from committing sin or falling into disease by lifting 
him above their power. 



l^HEOSOPiil^ OKliJNTAL AND OCCIDENTAL 85 

Throug-h reg-eneration is promised divine illumina- 
tion, moral and physical perfection and all needful 
power of intellectual attainment and ph^^sical master^^ 
The clothing- of the soul's faculties with intuition^ and 
the extension of the power and sweep of their activit}^ 
through illumination under divine guidance, opens the 
sure and direct pa^thwa^^ to the loftiest attainment 
possible to the soul, and the speediest realization of 
its supremacy over sensuous limitations and material 
conditions. 

Gifts of the Spirit Defined. — ''Concerning spiritual 
giftS;, brethren, I would not have 3^ou ignorant. . . . 
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; 
to another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 
to another, faith b^^ the same Spirit; to another, the 
gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another, the 
working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to an- 
other, divers kind of tongues; to another, the inter- 
pretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one 
and self-same Spirit, dividing to ever^^ man severally 
as he will. . . . For by one Spirit are we all baptized 
into one body [brotherhood], whether we be Jews or 
Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been 
all made to drink into one Spirit.'' These wi^re the 
words of a philosophic seer, and a noble and cons(»- 
crated Christian Hierophant, who had exemi)lined all 
these gifts of illumination in personal experience. Few 
readers of the New Testament, it would setMu, have 
ever caught the full scope of this pi'omise so remark- 
ably fulfillwd in Apostolic expei'ience, much less sought 
in faith its fulfilment in their own experience; conse- 



86 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

quently the meagre results in the lives of professing 
Christians. 

The Divine Sophia, — Here is the true Theosophy 
and occultism opened to the world through the path- 
way of the Spirit^ by the Christ, who himself led the 
way, and in turn extends the help of his spiritual 
ministrj^ unto all who truly seek to follow him. The 
''gifts of the Spirit ''thus specifically defined by the 
great Apostle, are not given as the result of psychic 
culture, development of will-power and attainment of 
occult science, but as the result of being "" made to 
drink into one Spirit/^ partaking of the one spiritual 
life; ''gifts/' or the spontaneous fruits of, and powers 
conferred b}^ divine illumination. Here is promised, 
under the inspiration and final illumination of the one 
Spirit, an esoteric wisdom and spiritual understand- 
ing, with intuitive occult knowledge and powers of 
mastery, which certainh^ include all that is practical 
in what is hoped and sought for by the initiates of the 
Eastern occultism. 

Through the Christ method this divine realization 
on earth is made i^ossible to all who have come to 
3'ears of discretion and the full sense of personal re- 
sponsibility, and within the period of an ordinary life- 
time. 

The Final Contrast. — Christian Theosophy begins 
with the twofold recognition: first, of an immanent 
God of infinite wisdom, goodness and providence as 
the immediate Father of men; second, of the spiritual 
nature, divine sonship and brotherhood of man, and 
the possibility of full spiritual realization in the flesh 



THEOSOPHY, OKIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 87 

through divine inspiration and illumination, acces- 
sible and free to all through love and loj^alty to the 
Father. 

Oriental Theosoph^^ as presented by its Western in- 
terpreters, begins by ruling out all recognition of 
Deity as a Being of intelligence and will, to be known 
and communed with by man, or who has an,y active 
sympathy with, agency in, or providence over the af- 
fairs and conditions of men. It leaves man to con- 
front alone a Godless universe and the irresponsible 
forces of Nature, and to struggle single-handed with 
the problem of destinj^ with no hope of sj^mpathy or 
help from a divine Father and superintending provi- 
dence, and makes man^^ earthly incarnations a neces- 
sity to final emancipation and personal immortality in 
a spiritual existence. '' It prefers believing that from 
eternity, retired within itself, the Spirit of Deit^^ 
neither wills nor creates.^'' These are the authorita- 
tive words of a prominent Western devotee and in- 
terpreter of the Eastern Theosoph^^ This it Avill be 
seen removes all basis of a moral law as the expression 
of a divine order or government, and leaves expediency 
as the only law and motive for the control of human 
conduct. It recognizes indeed a Spirit as distinct 
from the matter of the universe, but this only as an 
unconscious germinating principle and spontan(H>iis 
energ3^, holding mysteriously within its original (Es- 
sence the germ of all possible development, and \\\c 
first or controlling principles of Natures 

The Philosophy Involved.— Tlu-ough llu^ spontane- 
ous union of Spirit (the active), and matter (tln^ pas- 



88 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

sive principle), the worlds were formed and life was 
born. Principles of life becoming- individualized in this 
union as monads, became embodied in material forms, 
and thus began the structures of the organic world. 
By the union of principles and successive embodiments 
the original monads, as germs of higher possibilities, 
unfolded, and thus were brought forth through pro- 
gressive development, under the law of evolution, the 
advancing structures and successive orders of the 
vegetable and animal kingdoms. The continued de- 
velopment of certain principles, through repeated 
incarnations, culminated at last in the human soal as 
an embodied self-conscious personality^ of intelligence 
and will, the first being in the universe to possess 
these attributes. 

Through a sufficient number of incarnations on this 
and other planets, the soul in its unfolding life, ulti- 
mately exhausts the possibilities of matter and takes 
on more and more the ever expanding and developing 
qualities of Spirit which were latent in the original es- 
sence or cosmic germ of the universe. Having thus 
passed through the '^^ septenary chain ^' of planetaiw 
worlds, the human soul attains at length to the high 
estate of the gods and becomes a divinity. These 
divinities are called '' Planetary Spirits,'' and become 
ruling powers, which in turn preside over the forma- 
tion of new worlds, and powerfully affect and hasten 
results in the evolution of life b^^ the modifying infiu- 
ence of their combined wills. 

These are the only gods possessing intelligence and 
will, recognized in the Oriental Occultism and Theo- 






THEOSOPHY, ORIEXTAL AXD OCCIDEXTAL. 



89 



sopliy. It is claimed^ also^ that individuals who have 
passed through a sufficient number of incarnations to 
evolve the spiritual into ascendency over the material 
in themselves^ niay^ under certain conditions, enter 
into communication with and receive help and in- 
struction from these exalted intelligences. This high 
communion, however, is believed to be impossible to 
any until this evolution and ascendenc}^ is effected 
through repeated incarnations. 

Asceticism and Yogi. — The practice of asceticism 
and "^^ Yogi^' are believed to intensify the process of 
purification in each incarnation, and thus hasten the 
evolution of the soul and lessen the number of physical 
incarnations hy augmenting the power of the good or 
rising ''''Karma/^ The specific object of asceticism and 
mortification of the flesh, is to bring flesh, sense and 
personal desire into subjection to the intellectual prin- 
ciple, and develop will-power and self-control. Tlie 
object of " Yogi '' — a species of mental g3nxinastics — is 
the development of concentration and mind power, 
the control of the attention and the cultivation and 
exercise of the psychic powers of the sixth sense foi* 
the attainment of occult mastery. 

To illustrate what these practices are supposed to 
effect after a proper season of faithful disciphiu\ we 
will quote the words of a high official in the Theoso- 
phical Society. The " Yogi/' he says, in the third stage 
"overcomes all the primary and subtle forces; that is 
to say, he vanquishes the nature spirits or eUMuentals, 
resident in the four kingdoms of nature, and neit Ikm' 
fire can burn, wnt<n* di'owii, eartli ci'usli, nor poisonous 



90 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

air suffocate liis bodily frame. He is no longer de- 
pendent u^Don the limited powers of the five senses for 
knowledge of surrounding nature; he has developed 
spiritual hearing that makes the most distant and. 
most hidden sounds audihle, a sight that sweeps tlie 
area of the whole solar system^ and penetrates the 
most solid bodies along with the hypothetical ether of 
modern science: he can make himself buoyant as 
thistle-down, or as heavy as the giant rock; he can 
subsist without food for inconceivabh^ long periods, 
and if he chooses can arrest the ordinary course of 
nature and escape bodily death to an inconceivably^ 
protracted age. Haviug learned the laws of the nat- 
ural forces, the causes of phenomena and the sover- 
eign capabilities of the human will, he may make mir- 
acles his playthings."' 

Such are the extravagant claims for the attainment 
of the Mahatmas and Hierophants of the Eastern The- 
osophy, and such is the goal of aspiration for the 
Chelas and Initiates. Remembering the poetical ex- 
travagance and hyperbole of the Oriental speech, we 
must not be too literal in the understanding of their 
claims. But that their Adepts have attained most re- 
markable occult knowledge and power, and a high 
degree of psychic development, there can be no ques- 
tion with those who are familiar with the evidence. 
A full account of the '' Yogi '" practice and its results 
will be given in the next volume of this series. The 
attainment of God knowledge and the supreme wis- 
dom is reached only through self-realization, and this 
is whoUv a matter of self-will and effort. Both the 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AXD OCCIDEXTAL. 91 

possibility of a divine revelation and a revealin.i^ Spirit 
are denied. 

Deiflcation of the Human Will.— In this philoso- 
phy the realization of self is the onl}^ reahzation of 
God, and this is possible ultimately to all who will. Its 
motto is, " There is no impossibility to him who wills." 
Hence this doctrine is practically, and we mo}^ say 
emphatically^, the deification of human intelligence and 
wall. 

What is Meant by Spirit.— Spirit and spiritualit}^ 
as understood in this teaching-, are not, w^e repeat, what 
is meant by the same terms in the New^ Testament. 
Here they have no moral quality. It is simpl^^ psychic 
being and intelligence, as distinct from and in conti^ast 
wath flesh, sense and inert, insensate matter. The 
ignoring of a Supreme Intelligence, divine order and 
moral government render this position a necessitj^ 
The wiiole doctrine is consistent with itself. It is a 
logical outcome of its original premise, and illustratw^ 
fully what w^as previously stated, that a wnan's 
thoughts about God determine the character of his 
thoughts about himself, or of man and his destiny; 
and also his philosophy of Nature and life. Out of this 
philosophy he must construct his ideal of attainnuMit 
and also the method and conditions of its realization. 

Contrast the eternally hidden, unsym])alhi»tir and 
unconscious Deity of this Theosophy, and tlu^ Ioik* 
struggle of man after realization it involves, with tlu» 
picture of ''Our Father in heaven'' and His ptMfect 
providence and active sympathy aud co-opiM'at ion with 
men as His children, in the Theosophy of Christ. 



92 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIEIT. 

The Ideal of Attainment here presented, is simply 
the unfolding- and perfecting- of the personal intelli- 
g-ence and will through the souFs unaided effort. 
When the period of conscious struggle between the 
will, born of the unfolding life and intelligence of the 
soul, and the impulses born of the physical, beg-ins, 
unless the individual concentrate his effort and develop 
his will power in the struggle, he may fail of the final 
mastery and sink under the contest into ultimate 
personal extinction. Rest in "Devachan,^^ however 
(repose between the incarnations), and re-incarnation, 
g-ive opportunity to recover and work out one^s karma 
if he Avill. The suppression of the animal and the 
physical that the psychic and mental may find libera- 
tion and expression, calls for such rigid practice of 
asceticism and personal discipline, that few have the 
physical, mental and moral courage and hardihood to 
enter fully and perse veringly into it; hence the strug- 
gle must be prolonged through successive re-incarna- 
tions, until the rising karma is cleared and the final 
victory achieved, or the sinking karma ends in the 
final obliteration of personal consciousness. 

Not Fatalism. — This is not a doctrine of fatalit^^, 
for under it a man is allowed to work out his own sal- 
vation or final mastery, or, yielding, sink to oblivion 
if he choose. The way of his salvation is through the 
attainment of knowledge and the development of will- 
power; hence the attainment of knowledge and the 
power it confers is the supreme object and inspiration 
of his desire and effort. Under this inspiration his 
motive of self-denial and asceticism is like that of the 



THEOSOPHY, OEIEXTAL AXD OCCIDENTAL. 93 

miser, who denies himself present gTatification and 
comfort that he may accumulate the g"old upon which 
his heart is set. Possibly too, when the supreme 
knowledge and mastery is attained by the Adept, as in 
the case of the successful miser when the goal of his 
ambition is reached, he ma^^ have utterly killed out 
the very power of enjoyment in the use of his posses- 
sions that originally prompted the motive of acquisi- 
tion. 

The Higher Motive and Inspiration.— The Chris- 
tian Theosophist recognizes the same freedom as well 
as necessity of personal effort in working out his own 
salvation; but he has the additional inspiration and 
comfort in the recognition and realization of the 
Father^s Spirit and power working in and through his 
every effort, to will and to do of His good pleasure. 
And believing the Father^s will to be infinite good- 
will, and His way the perfect wa^^, he gladly and trust- 
ingly seeks to know and do His will, that he may be- 
come perfect as the Father is perfect, and be clothed 
upon with His character and share His righteousness. 
Hence, instead of the supreme knowledge of nature 
for the power of personal supremacy it gives, the per- 
fection of character and spiritual wisdom attaiiunl 
through unity wath the Fatlier's Spirit, and tlu^ 1 rue 
power of mastery and service wliieh tliesi^ involvi^ 
constitute the supreme object and inspiration of desire 
and elTort. 

These distinctions are as essential to tlu^ proptM- un- 
derstanding and appreciation of the philosphy, idt^il 
and methods involved in the Oriental Thcosophy, as 



94 THE PATHAVAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

they are to what is involved in the Theosoph}- of the 
Christ. The stuch^ of Oriental relig-ions and philoso- 
phies can but be interesting and profitable to all who 
give it their attention. It will enable the unbiased 
and philosophic student of life and its marvellous possi- 
bilities to more fully appreciate the depths richness 
and simplicity of the Christ ideal and method, and 
their more iDcrfect adaptation to the conditions of the 
present life and civilization of our Western world, 
which sooner or later are destined to permeate and 
embrace the whole world in their own best genius and 
spirit. When the West is christianized^ it will chris- 
tianize the world; and the Christ will bring all men 
into fellowship with one another and with himself in 
the universal realization of At-one-ment with the 
Father. " And other sheep I have which are not of 
this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear 
\\\\ voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shep- 
herd/' 

The following selections from high authorities in 
theosophical literature are presented as a more com- 
plete statement of the claims and essential principles 
and genius of the Eastern teachings The first is from 
" Five Years in Theosophy/' a standard work of the 
Theosophical Society. 

^^Theosophy is belief in Deity as the All, the source 
of all existence, the infinite that cannot be either com- 
prehended or known, the universe alone revealing It, 
or, as some prefer. Him, thus giving a sex to that, to 
anthropomorphize which is blasphemy. True theoso- 
phy shrinks from brutal materialization; it prefers 



THEOSOPHY, ORIEK^TAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 95 

believing- that, from eternity retired within itself, the 
Spirit of Deity neither wills nor creates; but from the 
infinite eflulg-ence everywhere going* forth from the 
great centre, that which produces all visible and in- 
visible things is but a ray containing in itself the 
g-enerative and conceptive power, which in its turn 
produces th-at which the Greeks called Macrocosm, 
the Kabbalists Tikkum or Adam Kadman, the arche- 
typal man, and the Aryans Purusha, the manifested 
Brahm, or the Divine Male. Theosophy believes also 
in the Anastasis, or continued existence, and in trans- 
migration (evolution) or a series of changes of the 
personal ego, which can be defended and explained on 
strict philosophical principles by making a distinction 
between Pardmatmd (transcendental, supreme Spirit) 
and Jivatma (individual Spirit) of the Vedantius. 

'' To fully define Theosophy, we must consider it under 
all its aspects. The interior world has not been hidden 
from all by impenetrable darkness. By that higher 
intuition acquired by Theosopliia, or God-knowledge, 
which carries the mind from the world of form into 
that of formless spirit, man has been sometimes en- 
abled, in every age and country, to perceive things in 
the interior or invisible world. Hence the 'Sanuvdhi,' 
or'Dhyan Yog Samadhi,' of the Hindu ascetics; the 
' Daimonionphoti,' or spiritual lUumiuation of the N(H)- 
Platonists; the siderial confabulation of soul of the 
Rosicrucians or Fire-philosophers; aiul even tluMH'sta- 
tic trance of mystics and of the modern mesmerists 
and spiritualists, are identical in nature, though vari- 
ous as to manifestation/^ 



% ME PATHWAY OF THE! SPlRil^ 

" The search after man^s divine ^ self/ so often and 
so erroneously^ interpreted as individual communion 
with a personal God^ was the object of every mystic; 
and belief in its possibility seems to have been coeval 
with the g"enesis of humanity, each people g-iving" it 
another name. Thus Plato and Plotinus call JSToetic 
work that which the Yogi and the Shrotrig-a term 
Vidya, 'By reflection, self-knowledg'e and intellectual 
discipline, the soul can be raised to the vision of eter- 
nal truth, goodness and beauty — that is to the vision 
of God, This is the ' epoteia/ said the Greeks. ^ To 
unite one's soul to the universal soul,' says Porphj^ry, 
^^ requires but a perfectly pure mind.^ "^ Through self- 
contemplation, perfect chastity, and purity of body, 
we ma^^ approach nearer to It, and receive in that 
state, true knowledge and wonderful insight.' ^The 
soul in the human bod}^ can perform the greatest won- 
ders by knowing the universal Spirit (or God) and 
acquainting itself with the properties and qualities of 
all things in the universe." 

" Thus, while the Ar3^an m^^stic claimed for himself 
the power of solving all the problems of life and death, 
when he had once obtained the power of acting* inde- 
pendently of his body, through the Atman, ^self,' or 
^ soul; ' and the old Greeks went in search of Atma, the 
hidden one, or the God-soul of man, with the symboli- 
cal mirror of the Thesmophorian mysteries; so the 
spiritualists of to-day believe in the capacity of the 
spirits, or the souls of the disembodied persons, to 
communicate visibly and tangibly Avith those they 
loved on earth. And all these^ Aryan Yogis, Greek 



THEO^OPttY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 97 

philosophers, and modern spiritualists, affirm that 
possibility on the ground that the embodied soul and 
its never embodied spirit — the real self — are not sep- 
arated from either the Universal Soul or other spirits 
by space, but merely by the differentiation of their 
qualities, as in the boundless expanse of the universe 
there can be no limitations. And that when this differ- 
ence is once removed — according- to the Greeks and 
Aryans by abstract contemplation, producing the tem- 
porary liberation of the imprisoned soul, and according 
to spiritualists through mediumship — such a union of 
embodied and disembodied spirits become possible/^ 

'"The Alexandrian Theosophists were divided into 
neophj'tes, initiates and masters, or hierophants; and 
their rules were copied from the ancient m^^steries of 
Orpheus, who according to Herodotus, brought them 
from India. Ammonius obligated his disciples b}^ oath 
not to divulge his higher doctrines, except to those 
Avho were proved thoroughly worthy and initiated, and 
who had learned to regard the gods, the angels, and 
the demons of other peoples, according to the esoteric 
hyponia, or under-meaning. ' The gods exist, but they 
are not what the hoi-polloi, the uneducated multitude, 
suppose them to be,' says Epicurus. 'He is not an 
atheist who denies the existence of the gods, whom 
the multitude worship, but he is such who fastens on 
these gods the opinion of the multitude." In his turn 
Aristotle declares that of the divine essence pervading 
the whole world of nature, what are styled the gods 
are simply the first principles.'" 

^' PlotinuS; the pupil of the God-taught Ammonius, 



98 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tells us^ that the secret gnosis or the knowledg-e of 
Theosoph^"^ has three degrees — opmion^ science^ and 
illumination. The means or instrument of the first 
is sense^ or perception; of the second^ dialectics; of the 
thirds intuition. To the last reason is subordinate; it 
is absolute knoicledge, founded on the identification 
of the mind with the object knoAvn. Theosoph^^ is the 
exact science of psychology^ so to sa^^; it stands in 
relation to natural, uncultivated mediumship, as the 
knowledg-e of a Tyndall stands to that of a school-boy 
in physics. It develo]3S in man a direct beholding-; 
that which Schelling' denominates ""a realization of the 
identity of subject and object m the individual;^ so 
that under the influence and knowledg-e of liyponia 
man thinks divine thoug-hts, views all thing-s as they 
truly are, and, finally", becomes recipient of the soul of 
the world. ^I, the imxDerfect, adore mj own Perfect/ 
says Emerson in his superb essay on the Oversold. 
Besides this psychological, or soul state, Theosophy 
cultivated eveiy branch of science and art. When 
ig-norant of the true meaning* of the Esoteric divine 
s^^mbols of Nature, inan is apt to miscalculate the 
powers of his soul, and instead of communing spiritu- 
alty and mentally with the hig-her celestial beings, the 
g*ood spirits (the g-ods of the theurgists of the Platonic 
school), he will unconsciously call forth the evil, dark 
powers which lurk around humanity, the undying-, 
g-rim creatures of human crimes and vices, and thus 
fall from theurgia (white magic) into goeta (or black 
magic, sorcery). Yet neither white nor black mag-ic 
are what popular superstition understands by the 



THEOSOPHY, OElENTAL AKD OCCIDEKTAL. 99 

terms. The possibility of raising- spirits according- to 
the key of Solomon, is the height of superstition and 
ig-norance. Purity of deed and thought can alone 
raise us to an intercourse with the gods and attain for 
us the g-oal we desire. Alchem^^, believed by so many 
to have been a spiritual philosophy as well as a physi- 
cal science, belonged to the teachings of the theosophi- 
cal school. 

^^ It is a noticable fact that neither Zoroaster, Buddha, 
Orpheus, Confucious, Socrates, nor Ammonius Saccas, 
committed anything to writing. The reason is ob- 
vious. Theosophy is a double-edged w^eapon and unfit 
for the ignorant and the selfish. Like ancient philoso- 
phy it has its votaries among the moderns; but until 
late in our own da3^s its disciples were few in numbers, 
and of the most various sects and opinions.^^ 

The following selections from Sinnett's "^^ Esoteric 
Buddhism,^^ will afford a glimpse of the decider philoso- 
phy involved in the Eastern Theosoph3^ as understood 
and interpreted by its Western devotees. 

'^ The one eternal, imperishable thing in the universe 
which universal pralajms [states of repose alternat- 
ing with corresponding periods of activity] themselves 
pass over without destroying, is that wiiicli may be 
regarded in different] 3^ as space, duration, matter, or 
motion; not as something having tliese four attri- 
butes, but as something wiiich is tliese four tilings at 
once, and always. And evolution takes its rise in 
the atomic polarity wliich motion engenders. In cos- 
mogony the positive and tlie negative, or the active 
and passive, forces correspond to the nuile and female 



100 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

principle. The spiritual efflux enters into tlie veil of 
cosmic matter; the active is attracted by the passive 
principle, and if we may here assist imagination by 
having recourse to old occult s^^mbology, the gTeat 
Nag', the serpent emblem of eternit}', attracts its tail 
to its mouth, forining thereby the cycle of eternity, 
or rather cycles in eternity. The one and chief attri- 
bute of the universal spiritual prhiciple, the uncon- 
scious but ever active life giver, is to expand and shed; 
that of the universal material princi^^le is to g^ather in 
and fecundate. Unconscious and non-existing when 
separate, they become consciousness and life when 
brought together. The word Brahma comes from 
the Sanskrit root hrih, to expand, gTow, or fructif^^, 
esoteric cosmog^ony being but the vivif^ang* expansive 
force of nature in its eternal revolution. No one ex- 
pression can have contributed more to mislead the 
human mind in basic speculation concerning* the origin 
of things than the word '' creation.'' Talk of creation 
and we are continually^ butting' against the facts. But 
once realize that our planet and ourselves are no more 
creations than an iceberg-, but states of being for a 
given time — that their present appearance, geolog^ical 
and anthropological, are transitory- and but a condi- 
tion concomitant of that stage of evolution at which 
t\\e\ have arrived — and the way has been prepared for 
correct thinking. Then we are enabled to see what is 
meant by the one and onlj^ principle or element in the 
universe, and b}^ the treatment of that element as 
androgynous; also by the proclamation of Hindoo 
philosophy that all things are but maija, transitory 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AKD OCCIDENTAL. 101 

states, except the one element which rests during the 
mahapralayas onlj^ — the nig-hts of Brahma. ... It 
is no paradox- to say that simply by reason of igno- 
rance do ordinarj" theologians think the^^ know so much 
about God. 

'' It is no exaggeration to say that the wondrously 
endowed representatives of occult science, whose mor- 
tal nature has been so far elevated and purified that 
their perceptions range over other worlds and other 
states of existence, and commune directl^^ with beings 
as much greater than ordinary mankind as man is 
greater than the insects of the field — it is the mere 
truth, that they never occup^^ themselves at all with 
any conception remotel^^ resembling the God of 
churches and creeds. Within the limits of the solar 
system, the mortal adept knows, of his own knowledge, 
that all things are accounted for by law, working on 
matter in its diverse forms, plus the guiding and mod- 
ifying influence of the highest intelligences associated 
with the solar sj^stem, the Dh^^an Chohans, the per- 
fected humanity of the last preceding manvantara. 
These Dhyan Chohans, or planetar}^ spirits, on whose 
nature it is almost fruitless to ponder until one can at 
least realize the nature of disembodied existence in 
his own case, impart to the reawakening world at the 
end of a planetar}^ chain pralaya such impulses that 
evolution feels them throughout its whole progress. 
The limits of nature's great law restrahi their actioiL 
They cannot sa,y, let there be paradise throughout 
space, let all men be born siipi*emely wise aiul good ; 
they can only work through the principle of evolution, 



1()2 TllK TATinVAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

and they cannot den^^ to aii}^ man who is to be in- 
vested with the potentiaUty of developing- himself into 
a Dhyan Chohan the right to do evil if he prefers that 
to good. Nor can they prevent evil, if done, from pro- 
ducing suffering. Objective life is the soil in which 
the life germs are planted; spiritual existence (the 
expression being used, remember, in contrast merely 
to grossly material existence) is the flower to be ulti- 
mately obtained. But the human germ is something* 
more than a flower-seed ; it has liberty of choice in re- 
g-ard to growing up or growing down, and it could not 
be developed without such liberty being exercised. 
This is the necessity of evil. But within the limits 
that logical necessity prescribes, the Dhyan Chohan 
impresses liis conceptions upon the evolutionary tide, 
and comprehends the origin of all that he beholds/' 

''The enormous areas of time and space in which our 
solar system operates is explorable by the mortal 
adepts of esoteric science. Within these limits they 
know all that takes place and how it takes place, and 
they know that eveiwthing is accounted for hy the 
constructive will of the collective host of the planetary 
spirits, operating under the law of evolution that per- 
vades all nature. They commune with these planet- 
ary spirits, and learn from them that the law of this 
is the law of other solar systems as well, into the 
regions of which the perceptive faculties of the planet- 
aiy spirits can plunge, as the perceptive faculties of 
the adepts themselves can plunge into the life of other 
planets of this chain. The law of alternating activity 
and repose is operating universally; for the whole 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 103 

cosmos, even thoug-h at unthinkable intervals, pralaya 
must succeed manvantara, and manvantara pralaya. 

^^Will any one ask, To what end does this eternal 
succession work ? It is better to confine tlie question 
to a sing-le system, and ask. To w^hat end does the 
orig-inal nebula arrange itself in planetary vortices of 
evolution, and develop worlds in wiiich the universal 
spirit, reverberating- through matter, produces form 
and life and those higher states of matter in which 
that which we call subjective or spiritual existence is 
provided for ? Surely it is end enough to satisf^^ any 
reasonable mind that such sublimety perfected beings 
as the planetary spirits themselves come thus into ex- 
istence, and live a conscious life of supreme knowledge 
and felicity through vistas of time which are equiva- 
lent to all we can imagine of eternit3\ Into this un- 
utterable greatness every living thing has the oppor- 
tunity of passing ultimatel^^ The spirit which is in 
every animated form, and which has even w^orked up 
into them from forms we are generally in the habit of 
calling inanimate, wall slowly but certainly progress 
onward until the w^orking of its untiring influence in 
matter has evolved a human soul. It does not follow 
that the plants and animals around us have ^ny prin- 
ciple evolved in them as j^et, which Avill assume a 
human form in the course of the present manvantara; 
but though the course of an incomplete revolution 
may be suspended by a period of natural r(^]Kxse, it is 
not rendered abortive. Eventually every spii'itual 
monad, itself a sinless, unconscious principle*, a\ ill work 
through conscious forms on lowcu* levels, until these. 



104 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

throwing off one after another higher and higher 
forms, will produce that in which the God-like con- 
sciousness may be fully evoked. Certainly it is not by 
reason of the grandeur of am^ human conceptions as to 
what would be adequate reason for the existence of the 
universe that such a consummation can appear an 
insufficient purpose^ not even if the final destiny of the 
planetar^^ spirit himself, after periods to which his 
development from the mineral forms of primeval 
world is bat a childhood in the recollection of the man, 
is to merge his glorified individuality into that sum 
total of all consciousness, which esoteric metaphj^sics 
treat as absolute consciousness, which is non-conscious- 
ness. These paradoxical expressions are simply coun- 
ters representing ideas that the human mind is not 
qualified to apprehend, and it is waste of time to hag- 
gle over them/' 

" That which antedates every manifestation of the 
universe, and would be beyond the limit of manifesta- 
tion, if such limit could ever be found, is that which 
underlies the manifested universe within our own 
purview, — matter animated by motion, its parabrahm, 
or spirit. Matter, space, motion, and duration consti- 
tute one and the same eternal substance of the uni- 
verse. There is nothing else eternal absolutely. That 
is the first state of matter, itself i)erfectty uncogniza- 
ble by physical senses, which deal with manifested 
matter, another state altogether.'^ 

Selections from Oliphaut's Seieutiflc Keligioii 
bearing upon the practical results of the Eastern 
teaching. 



THEOSOPHY, ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL. 105 

" The test of the value and nature of an inspiration 
is to be found in the efficiency of the remedy it pro- 
poses to meet pressing* human needs. Inspirations 
that do not pretend to grapple with the earth malady, 
and attack it at its root, lack the essential quality 
which is contained in the divine love for humanity, and 
which I propose to show later, was the one supreme 
animating- principle of Christ, who was such an incar- 
nation of divine inspiration as was never manifested 
upon the earth before or since, and who is now the 
radiative centre of the seen and the unseen worlds, 
which, enfolded one within the other, compose one s^^s- 
tem for the radiative influence of the hig-hest forms of 
inspiration; and it will be found that all inspirations 
which ig-nore him as their source, through whatever 
channel they may come, deg^enerate into speculative 
theories as to the nature and composition of man, and 
the cosmogony of the universe, which have no direct 
bearing upon its present actual condition with a view 
to fundamentally changing it; but which attempt 
rather to solve, ex cathedra, such problems as the 
character of man^s previous existence, his reincarna- 
tion, his progress through conditions, and final fate, 
than how to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal 
the sick, and infuse moral vitality into those who are 
spiritually dead to their obligations to God and tlieir 
fellows. 

^' In order to prepare the will, the airections, and the 
intellect to be collectively the transmitting media of 
an inspiration which shall have a minute and practical 
bearing in this sense, their training and discipline 



106 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

must have lain in the performance of minute and 
practical details^ controlled the while by an absorbing- 
desire to perform them as an act of worship to God, 
and of benefit to the race. In the degree in which 
this motive dominates all thought of self, whether in 
the most sacred family affections, or in the ambitions 
for spiritual progTess of a personal character, will the 
divine inspiration descend into these minute and prac- 
tical details, and the human problem begin to find its 
solution in the small everj^day cares of life. The lig-ht 
which shines in upon a man who is sitting* under a bo- 
tree with his eyes on his nose, or in a cave tapping- a 
g-ourd, is of a very different quality. It may unfold to 
him the viev/s of those in another state of existence 
with whom he is in atomic rapport, about the seven 
principles of which he is composed, and of the various 
stag-es throug*h which human beings, after leaving- 
this world, maj^ pass before the^^ return to it ag-ain, 
and what the^^ may have been in a previous state of 
existence, but it gives him no hints as to social recon- 
struction in this one. 

'^ By abstaining- from eating- meat, by always eating- 
alone, in order to avoid contag-ious mag-netism, and by 
various other corporal disciplines, he may attract 
from his invisible associates into his org-anism such 
powerful magnetic forces as to enable him to make 
converts by hypnotic sug-g-estion, or raise his body in 
the air, or suspend his respiration for an indefinite 
time; but so far from feeding- others, as a rule, he 
makes them feed him ; so far from bearing- their bur- 
dens, they bear his — in spite of his powers of levita" 



theosOphy, oriental and occidental. 107 

tion ; and the final result of more than three thousand 
j^ears of this kind of inspiration has been to crowd a 
greater number of idle, useless monks, of ragged re- 
ligious mendicants, and of revolting fakirs, upon a 
given area of the world's surface, than can be found 
in the same space in any other part of the world/' 



PART III. 

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOB, OR THE 
OPEN SECRET OF JESUS. 



Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the 
gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom 
of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel {Mark, i. 14, 15). 

Be not therefore anxious, saying What shall we eat? or, What shall we 
drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? For after all these things do the 
Gentiles seek; But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and 
all these things shall be added unto you {Matt. vi. 31, 32, 33). 

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, 
that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because 
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there 
be that find it {Matt. vii. 13, 14). 

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God 
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not 
with observation: Neither shall they say lo here ! or lo there ! for, behold, the 
kingdom of God is within you {Luke, vii. 20, 21). 

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many I say unto you will seek to 
enter in, and shall not be able {Luke, xxiii. 24). 

And Jesus looked round about, and said unto his disciples. How hardly shall 
they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? And the disciples were 
astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again, and saith unto them, 
Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom 
of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a 
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of 
measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking 
upon them saith, With man it is impossible, but jiot with God; for with God all 
things are possible {Mark, x. 23, 27). 



THE KEYS OP THE KINGDOM. 

The Kingdom of God. — The one supreme messag'e 
of the Christ was^, ^'The g'ospel of the kingdom of 
God/^ That gospel as announced by the angels at his 
birth was^ ^"^Good tidings of great 303^ which shall be 
to all people. For unto you is born this day in the 
city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord/^ 
This gospel was to bring ^^ Glory to God in the high- 
est, and on earth, peace, good-will toward men/' It 
held, therefore, the promise of a new and diviner life 
for man on earth, in which the imperfections and evils 
that had hitherto marred his history, were to pass 
away forever in the realization of the kingdom of God 
and the final reign of millennial glor^^ in truth and 
righteousness. This great change and transfiguration 
of humanitj^ was to be effected through the advent 
and ministry of this new-born Messiah. " Thou shalt 
call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from 
their sins,'' was the prophetic injunction of the lieav- 
enly messenger to his parents. To "save his p(*ople 
from their sins," is to prevent their sinning, by leading 
them to that perfect life wliich is above the possibility 
of departing- from tlie right. This is a V\h' of at-om*- 
ment with God. This indexed was tlie work tlu^ propli- 
ets liad declared tlie Christ woukl do for men. JJence 
the Christ came preaching the gospel of the kingdom 



112 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

of Gocl and saying-^ " The time is fulfilled and the king*- 
dom of God is at hand; repent jq and believe the g-os- 
pel/^ 

Nature of the Christ Message. — As taught by him, 
and illustrated in his own experience, this kingdom of 
God was a new and divine order of life and society to 
be established in the earth, in which the presence and 
inspiration of the living God as the Father of men 
were to be realized b}^ all. 

This higher level of personal and social life was to 
be reached, as we shall see, through the evolution and 
final embodiment in man of a higher attribute and 
principle than had hitherto dominated the lives of 
men. It was to be the higher evolution of man him- 
self, through the Avorking of the same law that had 
carried the evolution of life through all the preceding 
stages and crises of its development. Only in this 
case man was to be an intelligent co-worker with the 
law and share the responsibility^ of results, he being 
the first in the ascending scale of existences qualified 
to do so. 

Everj^ advancing step in the preceding stages of 
the evolution of life, had been thus marked b}^ the 
springing forth and embodiment of a new and higher 
principle or attribute of life than had hitherto been 
manifest. It was thus that were established the vari- 
ous distinct t^^pes and advancing orders of vegetable 
and animal life up to man, the crowning glory and 
masteriDiece of creation. All that differentiated and 
distinguished man as an organic being from the high- 
est type of animal life preceding him, was the evolu- 



I 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 113 

tion and embodiment in him of a higher attribute and 
principle of psychic being* than was manifest in other 
animals. In accordance with the universal law, that 
the dominant and controlling attribute and principle 
of embodied life determines the character of the or- 
ganism, the evolution and embodiment of the distin- 
guishing and characteristic attributes of man brought 
forth the human brain and bod}^ to correspond with 
and express these functions. If, then, there w^as to be 
a distinct and still higher type and order of life into 
which man was to enter and share, as announced by 
the Christ, it could be reached only through the evo- 
lution and embodiment in man of another and still 
higher attribute and principle than had yet found 
organic expression in him. This would necessarily 
effect a change in the organic condition of brain and 
body to make them correspond with, and give sponta- 
neous expression to the new and higher functions. As 
that next higher order and plane of life was to be of a 
spiritual and divine character, the embodiment of its 
characteristic attributes calls for the exercise of seer- 
ship, intuition, and inspiration for divine communion 
and fellowship. This requires an organism suitable to 
and in condition for the spontaneous and reliable exer- 
cise of these high functions, and that is exactly wliat 
the evolution and embodiment of the higher attribute 
and principle of the spiritual life is to effect in man. 

Man a Self-determiiiins? Po>^er. — Tlie distinguish- 
ing characteristic attribut(^s which lifted man above 
the animal creation and made of him a distinct order 

of being, are those which constitute his rational and 
8 



114 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIITIT. 

moral nature. His other powers he holds m common 
with the animal king-dom. The j)ossession of a rational 
and moral nature makes him a responsible and self- 
determining- being-; hence the further evolution of life 
in man depends upon his own voluntarj^ choice and 
personal co-operation. It was this self-determining 
power to which the Christ appealed when he called 
upon men to acce^Dt and act upon this gospel, which 
held for them^ through their own co-operation, the 
promise of a divine and perfect life. Through this 
higher evolution man was to be lifted to a plane of 
realization as much transcending the highest level of 
our common humanity as that transcends the highest 
level of the animal kingdom. This indeed would be 
necessary to constitute it a new, advanced and dis- 
tinct kingdom of being. 

The Basis and law Epitomized. — We assume that 
life, sensation, intelligence and moral quality are attri- 
butes or qualities of Spirit; that Spirit is the universal, 
all-animating soul of Nature, the all-pervading and 
all-encompassing Reality of Being; that Spirit is God: 
Hence, that the operations of life in Nature are the 
immediate manifestation of an immanent God and a 
superintending Providence; that the universe is an 
organism, and that life and all the higher attributes 
that follow, are inherent in the constitution of things, 
rooted in the Being of God : hence, that evolution, or 
the unfolding of life from within, and the successive 
embodiment of evolving attributes is the divine law 
and method of creation; that the evolution of organic 
life is marked by successive steps or waves of activity 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 116 

Culminating- in cycles and marked by crises, each C3^cle 
effecting- the complete embodiment of certain specific 
attributes or principles in org-anic function. 

The first and simplest manifestation of life in active 
development, culminated in the establishment of the 
vegetable king-dom and its infinitely diversified forms 
of veg-etable life. The specific principles of life which 
became embodied in veg-etable structures, were g-rowth, 
repair and reproduction. These are the characteristic 
principles of vegetable life, and constitute the essen- 
tial functions of ever^^ veg-etable org-anism. The next 
wave and higher cycle of development in the evolu- 
tion of life, culminated in the animal king-dom and its 
diversified forms and phases of life. The principles 
first embodied in veg-etable structures — g-rowth, repair 
and reproduction — being- necessar}^ to all org-anism s, 
were re-embodied in the animal conjoined with the 
higher principles which characterize the animal life, 
viz., locomotion, sensation and instinct. These higher 
principles of life, requiring- organs of a hig-her class 
and of a different texture for the expression of their 
functions, took on in their embodiment an org-anism 
to correspond with their nature and character. Hence, 
we say that the characteristic and dominant or con- 
trolhng principles of embodied life determine, in all 
cases, the specific character of the org-anism in form 
and structure which must correspond with and ex- 
press their functions, or the object of org-anism and 
embodiment is defeated. 

Uirth of Humanity. — Following- the animal king-- 
dom came tho advanced wave of evolutionary activity 



116 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

culminating in the cycle of humanity. The principles 
of both vegetable and animal life, being needed also for 
the higher organism of man, were re-embodied in him 
in co-ordination with the higher characteristic princi- 
ples of human life, which are reason, conscience and 
aspiration. Just as the vegetable and animal organ- 
isms corresponded with and spontaneously expressed 
the functions of their characteristic and controlling 
principles of life, so the addition of the higher attri- 
butes through their evolution and embodiment in man, 
extended the development of the brain and nervous 
system and transformed the entire animal organism 
to correspond with and represent these principles and 
express their functions. All the principles of life em- 
bodied in the preceding kingdoms are reproduced in 
man, in co-ordination with those higher characteristic 
attributes which differentiate him from and lift him 
above them, and make of him a distinct order of being. 
He is, therefore, a reproduction of all that has thus 
far been manifest in Nature, and is thus a child of 
Nature. Hence in the New Testament, he is called 
the ^^ natural man^^ — the man of Nature. 

The Ultimate of Eyolution.— The principles which 
have thus far come forth in evolution and embodi- 
ment, were of necessity inherent and potential in the 
nature of things, which is the life of God in Nature. 
The evident object, therefore, of evolution through its 
successive and advancing cycles and stages of devel- 
opment, in each advancing stage of which a deeper 
and higher order of attributes was embodied, was to 
be the final embodiment of all the inherent attributes 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 117 

of the Spirit and life of God in one perfect organism, a 
divine incarnation^ since the last embodiment gathered 
into itself all that had preceded it. Hence, if there 
are still attributes or principles in the Divine nature 
which have not yet been evolved and embodied in 
form on earth, the evolution and embodiment of the 
remaining higher principles must continue until this 
culmination is reached. This will bring the perfect 
type of organism and character representing a divine 
and perfect kingdom of organic life, in which the 
nature of God in all the attributes of His Being will 
be incarnated or fully reproduced in His children, the 
true order of the sons and daughters of God in the 
earth. This will involve another wave or cycle of evo- 
lutionary activity, lifting life to a level of embodiment 
as far above its present plane in man as this stands 
above the last preceding level in the animal. This 
will be but the fulfilment of all high prophecy, and 
the practical realization of the Christ ideal for man, 
and essentially^ the reproduction of his own attain- 
ment in universal experience. 

The Practical Question.— In the light of inspired 
prophecy and the testimony of Natui^e, the practical 
question to be answered is : Are there j^et latent pi'in- 
ciples of life to be evolved and embodied, and will tliis 
involves the brniging forth of a new and higher type of 
organism than the one which man now has? Let us 
take the last part of the question first. If we study 
the laws of form and symmetr^^ Ave find it iiu])ossil)le 
for the mind of man to conceive of or suggest a more 
perfect type of organism than is now his. Every at- 



118 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tempt by poet or artist to improve on this — as in 
pictures of ang-els with wings — gives us a monstros- 
ity. The liaman organism, it is true, is yet imperfect 
in its development and organic conditions. It is sub- 
ject to disease, suffering and decay. It wears out and 
breaks down under the stress of excessive mental activ- 
ity. Something is lacking in its composition for the 
realization of the ideal and desired perfection. Yet if 
perfected in its development and organic conditions, 
no higher type of organism seems possible, necessary 
or desirable. 

When we turn to the study of the character and 
personality of the being that inhabits and uses this 
organism, we find him as imperfect and deficient in 
his development and the conditions of his inner life, 
as is the organism in which he is embodied. One is 
the exact counterpart and correspondence of the other. 
Something is yet lacking, and therefore needed, in the 
organic condition of the spiritual man to fill out and 
complete the symmetrical and perfect character. This 
deficient and higher co-ordinating principle is, then, still 
latent and awaiting evolution and embodiment in the 
life of man. It is that ultimate principle of the Deific 
life which controls the universe in wisdom and goodness, 
and maintains the balance of creation. This when 
evolved and embodied in man as the coordinating and 
controlling principle of his being, will bring soul and 
body to that degree of perfection that he will in very 
truth become the microcosm, in which all the princi- 
ples of the Divine nature are embodied, and the perfec- 
tions of the universe are reproduced and represented. 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 119 

" Behold the Man." — Admitting- the genuineness 
of the gospel story, the entire problem was solved in 
the Christ experience. The essential nature of God, 
he affirmed, was pure, unselfish love. '' God/^ he said, 
" is Spirit,^^ and the manifestation of life in Na ture he 
pointed to as the immediate operation of the Divine 
activity : "' If God so clothe the gra ss of the field,'' etc. 
Hence, as man is the product of the life of God in 
Nature, he recognized him as the immediate offspring 
of God. Yet he saw and specifically^ pointed out the 
one thing needed, and lacking to make men the per- 
fect reproduction of the Fathers nature, true children 
of God. This was the ultimate principle and essence 
of the Father's Spirit — divine love and absolute good- 
ness. ^^ Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But 
I say unto you. Love j^our enemies, bless them that 
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
for them which despitefully use you, and persecute 
you; That ye may be the children of your Father 
which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
and on the unjust.'' He is kind to the unthankful and 
the evil. " Be ye therefore perfect, even as jowt Father 
which is in heaven is perfect. " 

This principle of divine love had been evolved and 
embodied in the life of Jesus and brought his being to 
S3^mmetry and perfection in soul and body; i)err(Hiiug 
the organism without changing the tyi)e. Tliis nuide 
him the complete reproduction and iucarnation of the 
Divine nature in human form. The Divine ideal and 



120 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

purpose in creation was fulfilled in this perfect Son, 
^' Son of man ^^ and '' Son of God/' This divine realiza- 
tion was reached by him, according* to the record, 
through his personal co-operation with the Father's 
Spirit in his life. Pure unselfish divine love becoming* 
the animating* and controlUng* principle of his life, he 
could understand the Father's nature and dwell and 
walk in sympathy, communion and fellowship with 
His Spirit. Dwelling* in oneness of life with the 
Father, he spake and wrought under the immediate 
conscious inspiration and power of the Divine wisdom 
and g-oodness: ^''For he taug*ht as one having* author- 
ity,'' and, '^ his word was with power.'' 

The Christ stands before the world, then, the repre- 
sentative and model man, the actualized ideal of the 
Father for His children, as shadowed forth in both 
Nature and inspired prophecy. Through his own at- 
tainment as a Brother of men, the Christ opened the 
door of this divine possibility and demonstrated the 
way of its attainment for all. ^^ Love is the fulfilling* 
of the law." By recog*nizing* the Fatherhood and love 
of God, and seeking* the personal realization of that 
love throug*h unity with Him in the Spirit, as His 
child, we come under the immediate inspiration and 
leading* of His Spirit, and through loyalty to that 
leading", the love of the Father is awakened and un- 
folded in the soul, and the entire being* is held under 
its reg^enerating* power until the transformation is 
complete, and the permanent incarnation is effected. 
Love is the divine and only co-ordinating* principle 
which brings and gives perfection. Its evolution and 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 121 

embodiment in the individual and the race will thus 
transfig-ure humanity and enthrone perfection in the 
earthy because it will bring the tabernacle of God with 
men. 

The Open Secret of Jesus.— The real secret of that 
new "^"^ gospel of the kingdom of God/^ opened fully to 
the world for the first time in the teaching and exam- 
ple of the Christy and which was so difficult for the 
world to receive at the time of and since his advent^ 
was the higher spiritual evolution and transformation 
of man through regeneration. This open secret of 
the Christ stands exactly where he left it; and whether 
it be the first or twentieth century from his advent 
and testimony, men will never enter into its life and 
realize its transforming power until its true nature is 
perceived and acted upon. The mass of men, even 
those who bear the christian name, are practicall3^ no 
nearer the realization of that higher life of the gospel 
promise, than was the noble Rabbi who sought the 
quiet and familiar interview with the Master which 
the night afi'orded, that he might more fully learn of 
this new doctrine of the kingdom he was preaching\ 
The words of the Christ to this seeking- soul apply with 
equal necessity and authority to the best of men, the 
Avorld over. " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a 
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
God.^^ . . . "Except a man be born from abov(%" 
"born of the Spirit'^ "he cannot enter into the king- 
dom of God.'' 

The nature of this new birth and of the transforma- 
tion of man through spiritual regeneration, is as much 



122 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

of a mystery and as far from being' understood in its 
true significance by the theologians of to-day, as with 
Nicodemus at that memorable interview. The mass 
of people professing to be followers of the Christ, 
preachers and laymen alike, are no more living- the 
regenerate and millennial life promised in his gospel, 
than are the people of the world. This is not, how- 
ever, because they do not desire nor seek it, but be- 
cause they have not yet caught the secret, and do not 
seek aright. *' For many. I say unto you, vrill seek to 
enter in and shall not be able." '• Because strait is the 
gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, 
and few there be that find it," were the prophetic 
words of the Master. The teachers have been blind 
leaders of the blind, and together have fallen into the 
ditch of misdirection and failure. The pagan tares of 
error, misconception, and perversion vhich sprang up 
with the pure wlieat of gospel planting, have grown 
with the gospel and vitiated so far the teaching, as to 
prevent the full reception of the original gospel and 
its power by men. The paganized corruption in the 
dogma of vicarious atonement and substitution, has 
for nearly eighteen centuries blocked the pathway and 
choked the growth of the original gospel of the Christ. 
This has been the most serious obstacle in the way of 
true spiritual realization to earnest souls, because 
it has been so authoritatively and dogmatically in- 
sisted upon as the veritable gospel itself. 

The Law of Attainmeut. — The attainment and 
realization of a new type and spiritual order of life 
is possible, we repeat, only through the evolution and 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 123 

embodiment or incarnation of a new^ distinct and 
hig-lier principle of spiritual life than has hitherto con- 
trolled the lives of men — the principle of pure^ unselfish 
love. The unfolding- and final incarnation of this 
hig-her and ultimate attribute of spiritual life, as the 
controlling- principle and co-ordinating power of the 
personality, will of necessity change the character of 
the entire man and make of him quite another order 
of being, as illustrated in its great Exemplar. Noth= 
ing less than this would be regeneration. Regenera- 
tion involves the complete reconstruction and trans- 
formation of man after the pattern of a, to him, new 
ideal, the divine ideal of the perfect spiritual life, under 
the controlling principle and working- law of that life, 
which, we repeat, is pure, unselfish love. It is the 
transformation of what Paul calls the " natural man '^ 
represented in Adam—tlie Adamic order — into the 
'" spiritual man ^' represented in the Christ, the long- 
prophesied order of the sons of God. 

This higher spiritual order of hfe actualized in the 
Christ, and announced by him as open and possible to 
all men, he called ''the kingdom of God,'' because in 
its attainment men were to come into a realized owv- 
ness of life with God, in love, communion and fellow- 
ship. It was, indeed, to be tlie realization in univcM-sal 
experience of the Fatherhood and perfect providi^nce 
of God, and the Brotherhood and spiritual supremacy 
of men, through the unfolding of the love and good- 
ness of the Father in the lives of His children, binding- 
them in one unbroken fellovvshi[) of love and sym- 
pathy. It is but the fuHihiu^ut oC all millennial 



12i THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

prophecy^ as of the vision of the beloved disciple on 
the Isle of Patmos in which he '^ Heard a great voice 
out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God 
is with men, and he will dwell with them and they 
shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, 
and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow, nor ciying*, neither shall there be 
an^^ more pain: for tlie former things have passed 
away.^^ 

The life here foreseen in prophetic vision, in which 
sin and disease, sorrow, pain, and death itself, are to 
be banished forever in the realization of life in God, 
and man enthroned in the mastery over all his envi- 
ronments, is certainl}^ a type, order and condition of 
life, as much transcending our present humanity as 
this transcends the level of the animal life. This 
divine and perfect life for man on earth was certainly 
proxDhesied as coming through the advent and minis- 
tvj of the Christ. It was also as certainly promised 
hy the Christ in his gospel of the kingdom of God, 
through regeneration. The Christ himself, according 
to the record, practically attained and lived this life, 
to which his immediate disciples in the face of persecu- 
tion and martyrdom bore witness; and indeed, to a 
remarkable degree they reproduced the same in their 
own experience according to the Master's promise. 
The Christ also affirmed in the most positive manner 
that whosoever believed on him, that is, accepted and 
acted in faith upon his promise, should do the works 
he did and even greater. But how shall men accept 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 125 

and act upon his gospel without accepting" him as a 
living example of human possibility ? 

The Blinding Power of Tradition.— How hard, in- 
deed, it was at the time, and still is, for men to enter 
into the spiritual understanding and grasp the full 
significance and promise of this open gospel of the 
Christ. The dominant ideals and traditional bias 
which shape and limit the thoughts of men, are the 
practical standards by which they interpret what they 
see and hear. It w^as inevitable perhaps that the 
Christ, lifting up as he did an entirely new and revo- 
lutionary ideal of life and experience to be attained by 
men, should be misapprehended and misinterpreted at 
and since his advent. This he foresaw and prophesied 
in his parable of the tares. In this prophecy also 
he announced the time as coming when there should 
be a separation between the tares and the wheat, and 
the work of true realization begin. This would be the 
end of that generation, or the then and still existing 
order, and the beginning of the regenerate life in uni- 
versal experience. It was this crisis foretold by the 
Master, doubtless, that planted in the Apostolic mind 
the impression of a second coming of the Christ, whicli 
in a true sense it practically will be, but not in the 
literal way in which it has been conceived by men. 

The Master himself announced the manner of his 
full appearing, in the general waking up of the w orld 
to the true understanding and power of his gospel. 
^^And this gospel of the kingdom shall be pivached in 
all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then 
shall the end come. . . • Then if any man shall say 



126 



THE PATHWAY OF THE SriKIT. 



unto 3^0U;, lo^ here is Christy or there; beUeve it not. 
For there shall arise false Christs^ and false prophets, 
and shall show great sig-ns and wonders; insomuch 
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very 
elect. Behold I have told you before. Wherefore if 
they shall sa^^ unto joii, Behold he is in the desert; 
go not forth: behold he is in the secret chamber; be- 
lieve it not. For as the lig-htning* cometh out of the 
east and shineth even unto the west; so shall the 
coming- of the son of man be.''^ The second coming of 
Christ is thus symbolized by himself as the dawning 
of a new day and the shining of its light over all the 
earth. It is the awakening of the world at length to 
the recognition of the glad message of his gospel, the 
^" good tidings of great joy which shall be to all peo- 
ple.^^ The '^^ second advent ^^ is not, therefore, to be 
in an3^ personal appearing or special incarnations. 
Against all such expectation or claim, he especially 
warned his followers. '"^Take heed that no man de- 
ceive 3^ou. For inan^" shall come in my name, sa^dng, 
I am Christ; and shall deceive many.^^ That new day 
is to come as a universally illuminating Spirit in the 
souls of men through their own awakening to its visi- 
tation. As the light which kindleth in the east, and on 
the wings of the morning envelopeth the uttermost 
parts of the earth, even so shall the final coming of 
the Son of man be. The seed of the first planting has 
been growing among the briars, weeds and thistles of 
human creed and dogma, and the story of the Christ 
has been told to man^^ peoples, and the earth has been 
enriched and greatly blest by its silent x)ower in spite 



THE KEYS OF THE KlKGDOM. 127 

of the errors with which it has been encumbered. AU 
this was inevitable, which the Christ foresaw, and 
with infinite tenderness and patience he bides his time. 
He knows that " he shaU see of the travail of his soul 
and shall be satisfied." 

The Planting and the Reaping.— ''Another parable 
put he forth unto them, saying*, The king-dom of heaven 
is likened unto a man which sowed g-ood seed in his 
field : But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed 
tares among- the wheat, and went his way. But when 
the blade was sprung- up, and broug-ht forth fruit, 
then appeared the tares also. [An exact picture of 
the beginning- of speculative doctrine in the Apostolic 
church.] So the servants of the householder came 
and said unto him. Sir, didst not thou sow g-ood seed 
in thy field ? from whence then hath it tares ? He 
said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The serv- 
ants said unto him, Wilt thou that we g-o and g-ather 
them up ? But he said Nay ; lest while ye g-ather 
up the tares, 3'^e root up also the wheat with them. 
Let both g-row tog-ether until tlie harvest; and in the 
time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gatlier 
3^e tog-ether first the tares, and bind them in bun- 
dles to burn them: but g-ather the wheat into my 
barn." 

It was with the utmost difiicult^^ that tlie little band 
of chosen disciples upon whom the Lord Christ con- 
centrated his effort, were at length inducted, in an.y 
marked degree, into the deeper undei\standing' and 
corresponding- realization of the reg'eneratiiig* power 
of his g-ospel. Their experience was sufficiently deep 



128 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

and niig-lity^ however^ to insure the planting of that 
g-ospel in the earth, and to insure the final spread of 
the g-ospel story tliroug'hout the world. Nevertheless 
it was unav^oidable that not only the Christy but the 
Apostolic experience also should be grossly misunder- 
stood and misinterpreted by after generations. Nor 
is it strang-e that centuries should roll by before the 
world sliould awaken to the true message of that gos- 
pel. May we not hoiDe that the days of waiting are 
nearly over, and that the harvest time is at hand and 
even now upon us? That the reapers are already in 
the field under the Master's orders, "gathering up the 
tares and binding tliem in bundles to burn them/' and 
that we may soon have the unmixed wheat for the 
true bread of life for which the world is waiting? 
What is this great shaking in the creeds and tradi- 
tions of men to-day, both religious and social, but the 
Avork of separation in the hands of his messengers, 
rooting out and binding up the tares of false doctrine 
to be burned in the fire of destructive criticism, that 
the pure wheat may be gathered into the granary of 
the Lord for the feeding of his flock ? 

A Life Not a Creed Demanded.— So long as men ex- 
pect to find salvation in this or that form of doctrine 
and worship, so long as their thought of salvation is 
to escape the hell and secure the heaven of another 
world, by some official work wrought in their behalf b^^ 
another, the^^ are feeding and depending on pagan 
tares and the chaff of superstition, and not on the 
wheat and faith of Christ's gospel. He held up and 
offered a life to be believed in and sought after now. 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 129 

to be attained and lived in this world; not a creed to be 
accepted as a condition of salvation in another world. 
The present looking* for an external coming* of the 
Christ in outward personality and form, instead of an 
inward presence in the mighty power of his spirit in 
the souls of his followers, is as far from the truth as 
was the looking of the Jews of old for his first advent. 
And it may be to-day as of old, that in his coming he 
will be sooner recognized outside the Church that 
bears his name than in it. ^"^And when he was de- 
manded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God 
should come, he answered them and said. The kingdom 
of God Cometh not with observation: Neither shall 
they sa3^ lo here ! or, lo there ! for behold the kingdom 
of God is within 3^ou.^^ 

The Jews believing themselves to be the chosen peo- 
ple of God, were at that time looking for the re-estab- 
lishment of the throne of David through a coming- 
Messiah wiio would " restore the kingdom to Israel,^^ 
and sitting upon that throne extend its supremac}^ 
" over all the kingdoms of the world and tlie glor^^ of 
them." Hence, when this new prophet proclaimed the 
kingdom of God as at hand, they could entertain no 
other thought of a coming kingdom than tlie realiza- 
tion of this long-cherished hope, in the liglit of which 
they had interpreted all the millennial prophecies. 
Wlien, therefore, the true Messiah was actuall3' pres- 
ent among them and in the real sense fulfilling *^M;lio 
law and the prophets," their eyes \v(ivc so "holden" 
by traditional bias that they did not and could not 

recognize him. Are not the most- of those who to-day 
9 



130 ^HE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

look for his second appearing repeating- the same 
folly ? This hereditary Jewish ideal nnd hope, for 
generations instilled into the minds of their children, 
proved one of the greatest obstacles in the minds 
of the disciples themselves in the way of their grasp- 
ing the spiritual character of the kingdom which 
the Master w^as preaching. This was strikingl^^ man- 
ifest by the confession of two of them after the cruci- 
fixion and burial of the Master, when as the}^ mourn- 
fully talked on their way to Emmaus, the risen Lord 
himself joined them and asked: "What manner of 
communications are these that ye have one to another, 
as je walk and are sad ? . . . And they said unto 
him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, w^hich was a 
prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all 
the people : And how the chief priests and our rulers 
deliv^ered him to be condemned to death, and have 
crucified him. But tee trusted that it had been he 
which should have redeemed Israel.'^ 

And, again, after his resurrection and he was seen 
of all the disciples, save mistaken Judas, we read: 
"When the^^ therefore were come together, they 
asked of him, saying. Lord wilt thou at this time re- 
store again the kingdom to Israel ? ^' We read the 
stor}^ of his familiar intercourse with his disciples, see 
the character of his faithful teaching and his tender 
patience with their stupidit^^, and wonder how the^^ 
could have been so blind to the spiritual nature of that 
teaching. Yet his disciples to-day, equally honest and 
spiritually blind, are repeating the same stupidity in 
making the real v>^ord of Christ of little or none effect 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 131 

by their traditions, in accepting- for authoritative doc- 
trine the speculations of the Fathers. 

The Christ Himself Tempted.— This traditional 
teaching* and hereditary bias embraced even the Mas- 
ter, and was evidently the source of one of the g-reat 
temptations he had to meet and ov(^rcome. We read 
that after his spiritual anointing- and permanent illu- 
mination at Jordan, he "was led b3^ the Spirit into 
the wilderness'^ to be temj)ted, or tried and tested, be- 
fore entering- upon his work as the Christ or Messiah. 
"With the exaltation of his Avhole being* through his 
complete illumination, came the realization of the 
transcendent power and insight of the new life, and 
the assurance also that he was to do the work of the 
long- expected Messiah. With the opening* to his 
prophetic vision of the g-reat work to be Avroug-ht in 
and for the world, which he was sent not to condemn 
but to save, this hereditary impression concerning* the 
nature of that work naturally arose in his mind to 
bias and shape in some deg-ree his new forming* pur- 
poses and plans. The g-reat historic leaders of his 
people — he was born a Jew — had been both king-s 
and prophets, and under the supposed inspiration of 
Jehovah had led their armies to conquest and vic- 
tor3\ "He that was to come,'^ was to be anointed 
with wisdom and power above all others, and lead his 
people to final victor^^ and universal supremacy, "and 
of his king-dom there should he no end." In tln^ full 
assurance of his M(*ssiahship and the sense cf power 
and leadership it conl'iM-riHl, lu^ could but fcM^I that this 
dream of his j)eople could now be reaUzed, and the 



132 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

king-doms of this world and the glory of them be theirs 
and his by the consecration of this power and insig'ht 
to that end. This was the temptation of the race 
spirit of his people^ voiced in his soul through the bias 
of hereditary impression and traditional teaching, 
under the supposed sanction of divine authority^ which, 
ever3^where and in all ages and peoples, is blindly 
yielded to tradition. But the principle and spirit of a 
new, broader, and higher life had opened its light and 
power in his soul. The heavens had been opened unto 
him in a beatific vision of the realized life of love and 
brotherhood in celestial societies. The spirit of that 
heavenly life had descended upon him as an abiding 
ideal and living inspiration. Under his divine illumi- 
nation a new conception of God and of His kingdom 
had opened in his consciousness. God was revealed 
to him as the Father of mankind, not of the Jews 
alone. He saw all men as His childern who received 
equal consideration and care at His hands ; that Jews 
and Gentiles, saints and sinners, were equall3^ precious 
as the subjects of His love and providence. He saw 
that love and loyalty in the hearts of men toward 
the All-Father and each other constituted the true 
Israel, as well as the true kingdom of God to be 
enthroned in the Avorld and realized on earth as in 
heaven. Hence, the real work of the Messiah was 
seen in this higher light, to be the leading of men to 
the realization of their divine sonship and the kingdom 
of God through love and loyalt}^ to God as their 
Father and man as their brother. The coming king- 
dom of God was to be, therefore, a sjjiritual not a 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 133 

political kingdom, and was to embrace all nations in 
the unity and equality of love and brotherhood. In the 
new illumination God was seen to be purely spiritual, 
universal and impersonal in His Being; and hence, 
His relations with and government over men were of 
a purel^^ moral and spiritual character. Men under 
these relations to the Divine Government as children 
of God, were to be regarded and dealt with from the 
standpoint of their spiritual nature and moral charac- 
ter, irrespective of nationality, creed or social position. 
The Spiritual Yictory. — With this ncAv conception 
of God and of man, and of the. true kingdom of God 
in the world, the spiritual understanding of the law^ 
and the prophets was opened to his soul, and the mag- 
nitude and burden of his great work broke upon him. 
Before this higher vision of the kingdom of God in the 
spiritualization of humanity through love and loyalty 
to the All-Father, the narrow and selfish ideal of his 
people faded out, and the temptation of his hereditary 
bias was put under his feet. The vision of Humanity 
as a Brotherhood under the realized Fatherhood, love 
and providence of God, became to his soul the all- 
comprehensive reality into which he was to lead men, 
through the awakening of their love and faith. This 
was the real work to which he was anointed; and when 
all personal considerations were put behind him, in his 
entire and holy consecration to the work, he was pre- 
pared to "Return in the power of the Spirit into Gali- 
lee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, aiul 
saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is 
at hand/' 



13-i THE PATHWAY OF THl! SPIRIT. 

Having himself risen throug-h divine illumination 
into the full realization of this kingdom, and the power 
of its new life, he could testify of it ''as one having au- 
thority." "And they were astonished at his doctrine: 
for his word was with power." "And when he was 
come into his own country, he taught them in their 
synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and 
said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and all these 
mighty works ? Is not this the carpenter's son ? Is 
not his mother called Mary ? And his brethren, 
James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his 
sisters, are they not all with us ? Whence then hath 
this man all these things ? " Thus came the Christ 
proclaiming and opening a new and higher life to 
m<in, and demonstrating its possibility, practicability 
and divine character in his own experience before the 
world. 

Another Order of Beiug. — Men in all the centuries 
smce the advent of the Christ, in contemplatmg his 
marvelous life and works, and the divme perfection of 
his character and teaching, have said: Surely this was 
another order of being: he must have been an incar- 
nated divinity. And this indeed was true. He was 
another order of being — a divine incarnation. He was 
a practical example and an embodied representative 
of that higher kingdom of life he was preachmg, as 
open and possible to all men. While he bore our 
common humanity, he was something more than 
that humanity, just as the common man is an animal 
and something more. Man, as we have said, em- 
bodies everv attribute and function of the animal, but 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 135 

superadded to and overruling* this animal nature are 
the hig-her characteristic attributes of humanity. It 
was the embodiment of these higher attributes with, 
and their transforming power over the animal nature 
and organism, that differentiated man from the ani- 
mal in character, form and structure, and gave him an 
org-anism to correspond with and represent the new 
and higher order of being. He became the incarna- 
tion of a higher controlling and co-ordinating* principle 
than dominated the animal life and organism. So with 
the Chiiist ; while he possessed all that constitutes our 
common nature, and was ''''tempted in all points like 
as we are,'" he had, in addition thereto, brought forth 
to full organic embodiment in his being the higher 
controlling and co-ordinating principle of the spiritual 
life, which is latent in all men. The transformiuig 
power of this supreme attribute and principle of 
spiritual life had thus lifted him to that higher plane 
of realization, through its evolution and embodiment, 
and inaugurated the new order and kingdom of life 
which he truthfully announced as the kingdom of 
God. As he had risen to this divine realization from 
the level of our common humanity, through the evolu- 
tion and regenerating power of a divine principle and 
energy latent in all men, he had opened and demon- 
strated a like possibility for all. 

Basis of the Higher Re.ilization. — In this concep- 
tion " God is Spirit,^^ and His universal presence is the 
immediate life of Nature. Man is the culmination and 
ultimate of life in Nature, theivfore the immediate 
otfspring* of God, As such he holds potentially within 



136 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

his being' the engermed attributes of God. Hence, as 
these attributes are ev^olved and come to organic em- 
bodiment in the individual hfe, the nature and charac- 
ter of a true son of God, the reproduction of the 
Father^s nature and character, is the inevitable re- 
sult. In his present stage of development man does 
not exhibit this perfect God-like nature and character, 
yet there is universal aspiration and yearning for it. 
This would be impossible but for the latent power of 
its attainment. As there is no higher type of organ- 
ism possible on the physical plane, it f.Qllo\vs that the 
principle needed for the perfection of the soul and the 
corresponding perfection of the organism is latent in 
the essential life of the organism itself, awaiting evolu- 
tion and embodiment. 

The one thing lacking, then, for the perfection of the 
nature and character of man, is that which constitutes 
the glorj" and perfection of the Divine nature, which, 
according to the life and testimony of the Christ, who 
lived to realize the most fuU^" the Father's nature 
and Spirit, is Love, infinite and changeless. When 
this central principle of the Divine nature, latent in 
man, is awakened and brought to organic expression 
as the controlling principle of the personal life, it will 
bring that life to perfection and clothe it with divinity, 
because it will be a divine incarnation. It will do for 
all men precisely what it did for Jesus; it will lift 
them to the level of the Christ-life. On that divine 
plane, as with the Master, intelligence will be manifest 
in unerring intuition and wisdom; love in goodness 
and perfection of character; and life in perfection of 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 137 

org-anism and supremacy of power. Man will be per- 
fect as the child of God^ even as God is perfect as the 
Father of men. 

Organism Included. — The unfolding of this higher 
principle in the soul will, in its embodiment, through its 
co-ordinating and transforming power, effect of neces- 
sity a corresponding perfection of organism as its in- 
strument of outward expression. Organism can have 
no other possible object than the embodiment and 
external expression of the specific controlling attri- 
butes of its indwelling life. Through this universal 
law, each type of organism strictly represents corre- 
sponding specific types of life and character, from plant 
and animal to man. Each individual organism re- 
flects the characteristic quality and state of its own 
embodied life. The present organism of man exactly 
represents the attributes of humanity" on the plane of 
life to which he has risen; he could not, therefore, 
rise to a higher plane through the evolution and em- 
bodiment of a still nobler and diviner attribute, with- 
out a corresponding transformation of organism to 
constitute that embodiment. 

As the offspring of God these possibilities are en- 
germed in the latent spiritual life of man, but until 
they are evolved and brought to fruition in his experi- 
ence, he cannot come to the realization of his spiritual 
nature and divine sonship. There is no true sonship, 
human or divine, without the complete reproduction of 
the essential nature and character of the parent in the 
offspring. From first to last, the ideal, promise and 
teaching of the Chi'ist were based upon liis recogni- 



138 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tion of the divine sonsliip^ inherent spiritual nature, 
and corresponding* possibihties of man. 

Immediate Realization.— The one peculiarit}^ which 
most distinguished the teaching- of the Christ from 
that of all other great teachers who had caught 
glimpses of and prophesied man's higher possibilities., 
was the emphasis he placed upon the certaint}^ of their 
immediate actualization in the earthly experience of 
all who should grasp the ideal with faith, and fulfil 
the conditions. '' The time is fulfilled/' he said, " and 
the kingdom of God is at hand/^ or within reach of all. 
This certainty of immediate possible realization was 
based upon his knowledge of the law of regeneration 
and the realization of its transforming power in his 
own life. What it had done for him, he affirmed it 
would do for all. Few indeed under his preaching 
seemed to grasp, fully, either the ideal or the law of 
attainment opened in his teaching and still preserved 
to us in the gospel narratives. These seemed to have 
been almost wholl3' lost to the world when the Apos- 
tles went to their rest. The bias of rooted traditions, 
and the materialistic tendency of the sensuous under- 
standing, blinded the minds of men and led to an in- 
evitable perversion and misinterpretation of the great 
Teacher's words. The kingdom of God which he 
taught for actualization in this world, men transferred 
in their conception to another Avorld ; and the condi- 
tions of its attainment were correspondingly conceived 
to mean an arbitrar3^ and official scheme of salvation, 
in utter antagonism with the S]3irit, ideal and promise, 
Avhich his words, as preserved to us, conve^^ to the 
enlightened and unbiased mind of to-day. 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 139 

Perversion Provided Against. — Foreseeing- the mis- 
conception and pervei^sion of his teaching- — so fitly and 
clearly depicted in the prophetic parable of the tares 
— he preserved from utter destruction the supreme 
ideal^ by framing- it securely in that model prayer, 
which, while pra^^er is needed will remain the model 
for all men. '' Our Father which art in heaven, Hal- 
lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will 
be done in earth as it is in heaven.'^ It will be 
observed that in this perfect praj^er g-iven bj^ the 
Master himself, there is not one petition concerning- 
the after-life, either to be preserved from its hell 
or secured to its heaven. Were such salvation the 
object of our life work here, this could not have 
been left out of a model prayer. It would have been 
the central petition and especially emphasized. On 
the contrarj^, there is no hint of such a necessit^^, and 
the emphasis is placed upon the fulfilment of the 
kingdom of God and His righteousness in the univer- 
sal experience of man on earth as it is in heaven. The 
ideal for which men were to labor and to pra3", was 
the attainment of the perfect life in the realization of 
the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man 
on earth. Then follows the prayer for daily necessi- 
ties, divine g-uidance amid temptations, deliverance 
from evil, and for such forg-iveness of our sins as we 
mete to those wlio have sinned ag-ainst us. In tliis 
brief all-comprehensive and inclusive pra^^er, ov(M-y- 
thing- for which men need to pray in this world while 
S(H^kiiig- and working- for the attainment of the id(\il 
lil'e, is (expressed, and all these ai*e made incidental 
and secondary to that supreme object. 



140 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

This prayer was given to his disciples as a model, 
in response to their request that he teach them how 
to pra^^ As such, being- translated into every lan- 
guage of earth, it will hold this supreme ideal of the 
Lord Christ, in all its original purit}^ and simplicitj^, 
until the nations shall at length awaken to receive 
and act upon its divine message. The Master not 
only emphasized the possibility and privilege of imme- 
diate entrance into the kingdom of God, and the at- 
tainment of the perfect life in the flesh in a single 
earthly experience (no re-incarnation necessary-), but 
he specificallj^ warned against making future condi- 
tions any consideration for present action. ''Take, 
therefore, no thought for the morroAV, for the morrow 
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient 
unto the day is the evil thereof.'^ Enter into oneness 
of life with the Father now and you will be at one 
with Him wherever 3'ou ma^^ go; and this is heaven. 
Fill the present Avith its highest possibilities, and the 
future will provide for itself. 

No Future to Man. — Strictly speaking there is no 
future to the life of man. It is one eternal now; and 
it is his only work to bring that now to its highest 
possible perfection. This is the best preparation for 
any possible future. It is the only time man will ever 
have. It is the one arc of an eternal cycle of career 
into Avhich he has entered, and the present realization 
of that particular point of the journey depends upon 
faithfulness to the highest light of the hour. In being 
true to that light, he will secure the expansion and 
unfolding of his being in the eternal present, and will 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 141 

learn that he is what he is, by virtue of what he 
does. While man is what he is by virtue of what he 
does, this will be determined largely by the ideal and 
faith he holds concerning- his possibiUties, duties and 
privileges. Hence the importance of holding the per- 
fect ideal and a corresponding faith. '' Therefore, who- 
soever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, 
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house 
upon a rock : And the rain descended, and the floods 
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, 
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock/^ 

God as absolute Being, and man as His child exist- 
ing onl3^ in His life and love, under the most vital re- 
lations, and protected by the sheltering arms of His 
perfect providence, are supreme facts or supreme fan- 
cies. They ma3" be facts notAvithstanding the uncon- 
sciousness of man concerning them. The majority of 
men are daily walking blindly in the presence of the 
most stupendous facts of vital importance to their 
well being. If then the message of the Christ was 
the manifested word of the living God and Father 
of all, man may be awakened to the realization of this 
divine relation with the Father and His kingdom, and 
enter consciously into its power and beatitude of ex- 
perience. 

The Inner Light. — ''God is light and in him is no 
darkness at all.^^ The pure life of God which aninuites 
and sustains the whole creation, is tlu^ inmost life and 
light of the soul. Hence, wlu^n the soul opens inwardly 
to the consciousness of its life in God, the personal life 
is deepened and expanded, the soul comes under the 



142 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

immediate inspiration of the Father's Spirit, and its 
powers of vision, comprehension and mastery are cor- 
respondingly^ quickened and enlarg-ed. As man un- 
folds from within in the hg-ht and power of the spirit- 
ual life, he is enabled to perceive external things from 
a higher plane of vision in that light, and thus acquire 
corresponding master^^ over them. He thus comes 
under the guidance of divine wisdom in his contact 
and dealing with all matters of the external world. 

Divine inspiration and guidance is a free gift, and 
the privilege of every loyal soul. All who are faithful 
and obedient to it will be led to full illumination, and 
the attainment of the divine and perfect life in the flesh. 
It must be remembered, in this seeking of the higher 
life, that God and His kingdom are ever within; 
but as the soul opens interiorly and unfolds in divine 
communion and fellowship, it also rises in its trans- 
cendency^ and power over its external environments — 
over all that is external to itself. 

The Pathway to Wisdom and Power. — All experi- 
ence as well as inspired teaching has shown that 
divine wisdom and power can be attained onl3^ through 
the unfolding of divine love and goodness in the soul. 
If supreme power is sought as an end, and wisdom is 
sought for the power it is supposed to confer, it is 
IDracticall}^ an effort to enthrone self in the place of 
God. Pure, unselfish love, sympathy and goodness 
constitute the life of God and the spirit and law of 
His kingdom. Man can become a true son of God 
only as the Spirit of the Father unfolds in his soul, 
and becomes the a*n.imating and controlling spirit of 



THE l^EYS OF THE KINGDOM. 143 

his own life. This casts out all thought of self and 
greed of power. Nevertheless, with the death of self 
the soul becomes correspondingly crowned with the 
Fathers^ wisdom and powder. 

Nature of Divine Loye.— The love of God for His 
creation is impartial and impersonal, because univer- 
sal. All beings and things of which we can conceive 
are the creation, consequently the objects of His love. 
Nothing was made in vain. He must, therefore, care 
with infinite justice and impartial sj^mpathy for 
all the works of His hands; and to Him they are 
good. He thus loves, cares and provides for man as 
His child, for what He designs him to be; and there 
can be no change in Him toward man, whatev^er at- 
titude man may take toward Him. " God is no re- 
specter of persons,^^ and nothing that He has made 
can to Him be ""^ common or unclean.^' When, there- 
fore, the love of God is awakened in the heart of man 
as His child, and the inexpressible sense of his divine 
sonship thrills his being, he is lifted out of self into the 
unself, and like a child in the warm and secure em- 
brace of parental affection, know^s and desires nothing 
but the fulfilment of the Father's will and purpose 
in his life. Coming into unity with and under the in- 
spiration of the Father's Spirit, he begins to feel toward 
men and things as God feels toward tlioni. The spirit 
of condemnation and judgment melts away, and a 
deep and abiding sense of universal love, compassion 
and charity takes its place. He learns to love and 
forgive his enemi(^s. He comes to see men and things 
for what they are in the purpose of the Fathei*, and if 



144 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

the}^ have fallen out of their true position, he feels 
toward them a compassionate desire to help them to 
return. 

Such were the feeling's of the Christ for the world in 
its misdirections and carnality, as he gave himself in 
self-sacrificing efforts for its spiritual awakening and 
emancipation. When scorned and rejected by those 
who should have been the first to respond to his divine 
message — the leaders at Jerusalem — it was this spirit 
which wept in burning tears of commiseration and 
pity over the blind but beloved cit}^; and when at last 
put to the shameful death of the cross, at the instiga- 
tion of the people he had sought to bless, he still 
prayed for his murderers: ^'^ Father forgive them, for 
they know not what they do.^^ 

Mission of the Christ. — It was the work of the 
Christ to set specifically before the world the ideal of 
a perfect life for man in the flesh, and by precept and 
example to fasten it upon the attention and plant it in 
the heart of universal humanity. It devolved upon 
him then not only to open to men the law and condi- 
tion of its attainment, but to practically demonstrate 
its possibility by its actualization in his own experi- 
ence; and not only this, but to awaken interest and 
faith by an impressive example of its legitimate fruits 
in works of beneficence and power. He did not hesi- 
tate, however, to emphasize the difficulty that lay in 
the way of really entering upon the path and work of 
present attainment. He saw that man^^ would gladly 
enough accept the gospel promise of a new and tran- 
scendent life, if the^^ could still hold on to the things of 



THE KEYS OF THE KI^GD0:VI. l-io 

flesh and sense in which self is centered. He saw the 
tenacity with which men would cling- to the sensuous 
life, and their dependence upon the external, especiall}^ 
the desire for wealth and the advantages and pleasures 
that riches are supposed to secure. The impressive 
earnestness of his words on these points is clearly 
indicated in the passages at the head of this paper. 
The disciples themselves, for about three years under 
his daily ministry, were loath to accept the necessity of 
self-denial, so absolutely essential to the work of re- 
generation. Almost to the last they soug-ht for prom- 
inence and position in the new kingdom which they 
persistently hoped and expected the Master to set up 
in the external. But this could not be. The nature 
of the kingdom and its new life were incompatible 
with the spirit of self. Its very realization was to be 
in rising out of the life of self into the life of divine 
love and sympathy. It was in dying to the selfish 
spirit and awaking- to the spirit of divine sonship and 
brotherhood. 

No Call for Asceticism. — Christ did not call upon 
man to leave the world and neglect its legitimate in- 
dustries and become a recluse or anchorite, in order 
to reach the spiritual and perfect life to which he 
directed and led him. Neither did he require him to 
ignore in any sense the things of the outward life as 
such. '^ Your lieavenly Father knowetli that ye have 
need of all these things.^' He simply urged tliat 
they sliould not live in and for tliese things, whtn'eby 
tli(\v came into bondage to them, but to live in and 

foi- tlie higluu' things of the Spirit, those tilings that 
10 



146 THE PATH^VAT OF THE SPIRIT. 

pertain to the kingdom of God^ and let the thing's 
of the sensuous life become secondary and subordinate 
to the spiritual and its divine communion and fellow- 
ship. '^^Seek 3^e first the king^dom of God and his 
righteousness and all these thing's shall be added unto 
3'ou.^^ This was j)racticall3" saying* that the realiza- 
tion of the spiritual life throug-h lo3^alty to its right- 
eous law^ was the best and only true preparation for 
the perfect and successful life in the world ; because it 
would lift man to a plane of attainment and power 
that would g-ive the perfect mastery of this world and 
enable him to command the things he needed. 

With the opening of the spiritual life in man comes 
the dawning of the vision of God^ and the beginning of 
His kingdom in the doing of His will. Then comes 
the glad recognition of the Father^s compassionate 
Spirit and providence, which hold all souls in all worlds 
in the secure embrace of a quenchless and boundless 
love and care, waiting in infinite tenderness and pa- 
tience the opening of the door in the hearts of His 
children, to become manifest and real to each and all. 

The Opened Heavens. — We read of the Master that, 
at his baptism by John in the Jordan, "" Straightway 
coming up out of the water/^ and praying, *'the 
heavens were opened unto him, and the Spirit de- 
scended and abode upon him.^^ This opening of the 
spiritual heavens unto Jesus, and the descent of the 
Spirit as an abiding or permanent illumination in his 
soul at this crisis of his life, is itself the evidence that 
he had not before had the perfect illumination. It is 
evidence also that in reaching this culminating crisis 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 147 

throLig-li which he entered into his full illumination, 
he had been oblig-ed to contend with the same limita- 
tions of the sensuous life that encompass our common 
humanity. The inspired Apostle to the Gentiles af- 
firmed that " He was tempted in all points like as we 
are/^ Soon after entering* upon his ministry, his pos- 
session of the inner vision of true seership became 
striking-ly manifest in his interview with the woman 
of Samaria, whose history and the most secret acts 
of whose life he read at a glance; as she affirmed, he 
'^ told me all things that ever I did/^ Also with Na- 
thanael, the guileless Israelite, brought to him by 
Philip, whom he also read, and had previously seen by 
the inner sight, under a distant fig tree before Philip 
had called him. At the expression of surprise by 
Nathanael at this exhibition of occult vision, ^' Jesus an- 
swered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I 
saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou ? thou shalt 
see greater things than these. . . . Veril^^, verilj^, I 
say unto you. Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and 
the angels of God ascending- and descending upon the 
Son of man.''^ 

In the gospel narratives of the Christ life, the evi- 
dence of his occult seership is continually shown ; but 
it has seemed to excite no surprise, because the story 
has been read, in the main, under the traditional im- 
pression that he was a supernatural being, a god veiled 
in human flesh, and such ])ow(u\s were to be expected. 
This ungrounded superstition will sooner or later die- 
out; then will be s(mmi and realized in all its divine 
suggestiveness and powi^* 1 he real lesson of the Christ 



148 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

life as a divinely illuminated humanit}^— '"^ the wa3^ the 
truths and the life/' or Example for all men. Allowing" 
him to have been, as believed. by man^^, an incarnated 
Divinitj^, even then he came under the limitations of 
our humanity, and the exercise of all his powers was 
in and through the organism of a strictl}^ human 
brain and body. Thus even were demonstrated the 
possibilities of the human organism under divine in- 
fluence and illumination — all that is claimed under 
the interpretation here set forth. This conclusion 
is fully substantiated by the Master's own Avords. 
"Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on 
me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater 
works than these shall he do because I go unto the 
Father.'' Thus in the most unequivocal manner he 
assured his followers that his highest experience was 
attainable by any man through faith in him as an Ex- 
ample, and the strict following of that Example. " He 
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but 
shall have the hght of life." It is only as an example 
of our own possibilities, and of the divineh^ appointed 
way of attainment, that we are called upon in his 
gospel to accept and follow him. He had, as we have 
seen, the organic limitations of our common humanity 
to meet and overcome, through co-operation with 
divine influence which is open and free to all. This 
was, indeed, the simple message of his gospel. 

The words of Jesus to Nathanael imply that after 
the heavens were opened unto him, angelic ministry 
and communion were a continuous experience. This 
was what Nathanael was to see with the dawning of 



THE KEYS OP THE KINaDOM. 149 

the spiritual vision, which Jesus prophesied would 
come to him also. '^ Ye shall see heaven open/^ im- 
plying- that from his full illumination it remained 
"^ open ^^ to him. '^ and the angels of God ascending- and 
descending upon the Son of man/^ This was further 
evidenced by his words on a subsequent occasion when 
he assured his disciples that by pra^^er to the Father 
he could immediately summon to his aid, if needed, 
"more than twelve legions of angels/' When we con- 
sider the power over material conditions exerted by 
the angel in the deliverance of Peter, and afterward 
of both John and Peter, from a guarded Roman 
prison, summoned by the prayers of their friends, w^e 
can imagine something of the possibility resting with 
legions of angels when summoned b^^ the prayer and 
faith of a Christ. From his struggle with temptation 
in the wilderness to the dark hours of Gethsemane, 
'^'^ angels ministered unto him and strengthened him.'' 
If then, the opening of the spiritual life in the soul of 
Jesus, through unity with the Father's Spirit, opened 
the heavens unto him, and made angelic communion 
and ministry a common experience, it must do essen- 
tially the same for all his faithful followers, as it did 
in Apostolic experience after their illumination. 

Worlds Unseen by Outward Eyes.— He who sup- 
poses that the physical universe embraces all the sub- 
stantial worlds of sentient being and organized ac- 
tivity there are, lias but the faintest conception of the 
arcana of substance and being. Within and behind 
the veil of materiality and sense, vastly transcending 
the sphere of sensuous observation and experience, 



150 THE PATinVAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

there is, indeed, a spiritual universe resplendent with 
spheres of celestial beauty and incomprehensible mag*- 
nitude^ of which the phj'sical universe is but a vague 
and shadowy reflection and correspondence. This 
inner universe of eternal and indescribable realities, 
with its infinite gradations of interiorlj' ascending and 
expanding spheres, peopled by corresponding ranks 
of glorified beings, is a substantial universe, in the 
sense that each interior sphere within sphere is liter- 
ally constituted of corresponding ethereal or spiritual- 
ized substance. The heavenl}" societies of celestial 
realms have actual place and environinent, corre- 
sponding with then- interior states or degrees of at- 
tainment in holiness, wisdom and power. Individual 
existence and personal consciousness would be incon- 
ceivable without this. 

lufluite Gradations of Substance.— In the last an- 
alysis there is doubtless but one substance, yet that 
substance must be subject to infinite gradations of 
etherealization and refinement, for the embodiment 
and external expression of corresponding interior 
states of spiritual being and consciousness. The con- 
scious existence and voluntary activitj^ of individual 
life would be as impossible without individual embodi- 
ment in an organism, as without an external environ- 
ment for those activities. There is, therefore, of neces- 
sity^ the corresponding substance appropriate to such 
embodiment. Hence "There is a spiritual body," as 
'' there is a natural body."' " Howbeit that was not 
first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and 
afterward that which is spiritual.'^ For the activitj^ 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 151 

of embodied spiritual beings there is the same neces- 
sity, we repeat, for external environment, a world of 
forms objective to the organic personality, on a plane 
of etherealization corresponding to the degree of spirit- 
ual attainment or the development of the interior life. 
For these worlds within worlds in iafinite gradations 
of ascending orders, there is, then, the appropriate 
substance in its corresponding degree of spiritualiza- 
tion. In a Divine Economy the law of demand and 
supply is universal and inevitable. Tlie progressive 
and indestructible nature of man as a child of the in- 
finite God, renders this system of unfolding life through 
infinite gradations of splieres a necessity. Without 
this, the career of an endless and progressive being 
would be impossible. Without progress, or continu- 
ally advancing stages of attainment, an eternal exist- 
ence to a being like man would become monotonous 
and unbearable. If God is infinite Being and man is 
the child of God, as tauglit by the Christ, he is the 
engermed embodiment of infinite and eternal possibili- 
ties. This fundamental postulate of Christian Theos- 
ophy accepted, then essentially what is here suggested 
and vastly more follows of necessity. Every fact in 
Nature, when fairly considered, is in harmony with 
this conception; and every analogy drawn from the 
history of organic life in its evolution from the moss 
to man sustains it. 

Matter and Spirit. — We need not here discuss tlic 
profitless question whether matter and spn*it are one. 
They are dilTerentiated one fi*om the other to our pres- 
ent experience and consciousness, and therefore possi- 



152 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT, 

ble of being- thus differentiated to all future experi- 
ences. That which we call matter now, is the ana- 
logue of that which will stand for objective substance 
forever. And that which we now call Spirit (mind, 
soul, etc.), that to which belong' the attributes of in- 
tellig-ence, love, sympathj^, aspiration and worship, is 
the analogue of that which will be Spirit, and will 
hold its supremacy over substance forever. A portion 
of this Spirit once individualized as an embodied soul, 
a self-conscious personality and child of God, will un- 
fold and advance forever as an embodied personality, 
the capacity of the organism unfolding with the growth 
of the spirit in personal life and consciousness. 

Sustained by Analogy. — From the standpoint of 
purely sensuous observation and experience, we are 
obliged to recognize the gradations of substance from 
that condition which we call gross, inert matter, up to 
the thinking brain of man. The one substance of 
earthy matter composed of the elements of the min- 
eral world is transformed first into the organic sub- 
stance of the vegetable structure, then into the vastl3^ 
higher and finer tissues of animal flesh, and again to 
the still more delicate tissues of the higher and more 
perfect organism of man. Ever^^ step in these marvel- 
ous transformations is a process of refinement, and 
practically of etherealization. 

We see all this resulting from the evolution of life 
from lower to higher planes of embodiment in the 
ph^^sical world, each advancing t3^pe of organism tak- 
mg on, through the correspondmg transformation, the 
appropriate substance or the more etherealized condi- 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 153 

tion of the one orig-inal substance derived from the 
mineral king-dom. 

There is absolutel}^ no authority from the standpoint 
of physical science for either affirming' or supposing- 
that the evolution of conscious being* ceases^ or that 
the gradations of substance stop at the phj^sical 
org-anism or brain of man. On the contrary there is 
good reason to believe they do not^ but that both the 
evolution of life and the etherealization and grada- 
tions of substance continue without end in the infinite 
and all-embracing sphere of the Divine Substantiality. 
The indestructibility of substance, the supremacy of 
life over substance, and the controlling power of in- 
telligence and ideals with the yearning after immor- 
tality in the aspirations of embodied souls, demand 
them. 

Primordial Substance Invisible. — We have incon- 
testable evidence that the very matter which seems so 
solid and enduring to the senses was precipitated, so 
to speak, through gradual and successive steps of con- 
densation, from a primordial condition of invisibility. 
There is, therefore, nothing in the constitution of mat- 
ter known to us to militate in the least against the 
conception here presented, of its return by an upward 
process of gradual transformation and etherealization 
to invisibility again, even in tlie form of ethereal or- 
ganisms. The entire analogy of creation, oi* tlie evo- 
lution of life and consciousness through ascending 
gi'ades of organism in the pliysical world, points 
toward the transcending results here suggested. In- 
deed the whole cycle of materiality^ from the first con- 



154: THE PATHWAY UF THE SPIRIT. 

deiisation of ethereal substance from invisibility into 
the condition known as matter, the formation of 
worlds, and the culmination of all in the evolution of 
life^, ultimating in the self-conscious personality of 
man, indicate that the birth of immortal beings was 
the specific and only object of material worlds. As 
already intimated, we are not left to inference and 
the indications of analogy alone for evidence of the 
truth of the essential claim involved. We have the 
positive testimony of a higher observation and experi- 
ence than the senses afford. 

The Testimouy of Seership. — Inspired teaching 
affirms that. '•'There is a natural body and there is a 
spiritual body." The renowned Apostle who made 
this statement was an illuminated seer of spiritual 
things. He claimed to have been intromitted into the 
"'third heaA'en,*' and saw and heard things unutterable 
in the language of earth. The truth of his affirmation 
concerning the existence of the spiritual body and the 
transcendent realities of the after-life, is sustained and 
corroborated by the accordant testimony of many 
seers whose spiritual vision has been opened, and 
whose testimonies have been wholly independent one 
of the other. Some of these have given unmistakable 
evidence of the truth of their inner experience in the 
fact of meeting and conversing with recently departed 
spirits, of whose decease both the seer and his immedi- 
ate friends were wholly unaware. The account given 
by the spirit to the seer, of the circumstances con- 
nected with and previous to his departure, being cor- 
roborated by subsequent investigation not only identi- 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 155 

fied the personality of the departed, but confirmed the 
truth of the seer^s experience. Man^^ instances of ap- 
parent death followed by subsequent resuscitation 
have been attended with the same and other remark- 
able experiences, which attest the realities of life be- 
yond the physical body, and the substantial character 
of both the spiritual body and the world it inhabits, 
when it has i^assed '^ within the vail/^ Thousands of 
death-bed experiences add impressive weight to this 
g'lad testimony of the deathless nature of man. In 
numberless cases as the physical powers wane in the 
parting- hour, the spirit triumphantl3^ asserts its su- 
premacy, and the inner vision is opened to behold the 
joyful presence of attending spirits, often the beaming 
faces of departed loved ones, waiting to receive them 
with the glad embrace of und^dng love to the compan- 
ionship and larger life of a better world. 

Where the spiritual vision is not thus open before 
the suspension of the outward consciousness, the same 
experience awaits the soul on its entire emancipation 
from the body. Frequently in the mesmeric trance 
the inner vision has been opened to behold the scenes 
of the invisible world and converse with the departed, 
with many corroborating circumstances to confirm 
the truth of their experience. 

An Important Revelation. — The universal testi- 
mony of these spiritual seei's, is to the elTiH't that the 
spirit bod.y of the departed corresponds in cnn^y es- 
sential particular to tlie pliysical one tliey UM't, save in 
the ethereal nature of its substance. Exc(*i)tion is 
made also to deformities fiom physical injuries and 



156 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

congenital defects^ which do not pertain to the spirit- 
ual body. 

One significant and important fact has been brought 
to hght in these post-mundane revelations and experi- 
ences, which it is well to specially emj)hasize. The 
ethereal nature of the spirit body makes it a complete 
and perfect expression of the character and quality of 
the personal life^ so that the ver3^ motives and un- 
spoken thoughts are mirrored upon the surface and 
externall3^ revealed. The activities of the inward life 
produce vibrations upon the all-pervading spiritual 
atmosphere^ which appears as an aura emanating 
from and surrounding the person of each spirit. 
This aura of necessit^^ bears the impress of the real 
character and moral status of the individual, and is, 
therefore, light or dark, beautiful or repellant, accord- 
ing to the character of the individual. No deception 
is there possible; all shams and pretence are gone for- 
ever. The inward states, through radiation, become 
practically the outward garment of the person, to be 
knoAvn and read of all with whom he associates. 

Degrees of Inward Perception. — As there are dif- 
ferent gradations and spheres of life and attainment 
in the spirit world, so there are corresponding degrees 
of perception in the different seers whose psychic 
vision has been opened to that world. Some are only 
opened to what may properl^^ be called the natural 
plane in the spiritual world ; that is, the sphere peo- 
pled b}^ those who still live and act from the xDlane of 
the sensuous life. It must be confessed that vast 
numbers of our race have not yet risen through s]3irit- 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 157 

ual birth and reg^eneration to the plane of the spirit- 
ual man. These are furnishing* continual recruits to 
the ranks of those who still linger on the correspond- 
ing plane in the home of the departed. 

Some of our seers^ however, have through the deeper 
ecstatic trance, been intromitted to the purely spirit- 
ual degree of the mind, the true spiritual consciousness 
temporarily awakened by the entire closing up for the 
time of the senses, and outward life — and thus opened 
to communion with the more interior regions of the 
celestial heavens. These, like the great Apostle, have 
witnessed and experienced scenes and things of unut- 
terable glory and beatitude, as real to their exalted 
state of perception and experience as anything which 
mortal e^^es reveal to outward sense. These beatific 
experiences are so vastly above and beyond anything* 
corresponding therewith in the natural world, as to 
baffle every attempt at description. 

An Important Lesson.— These exceptional experi- 
ences of seership reveal and establisli a fact of the 
greatest importance and interest to every aspiring* 
soul: it is that the personal life of every one, whether 
conscious of the fact or not, is in conjunction with the 
corresponding plane of hfe in the world of spirits, in 
which we all exist even now b}^ virtue of our interior 
organism, though held to the outward woi*ld by tlie 
physical body. Hence the unfoldiug of our spiritual 
nature and life here will lift us into conjunction with 
corresponding planes of lieavcviily life and inlluiMice, 
and with the opening of the divine life within comes 
the opening also of the dooi* of conscious comniuniou 



158 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

and fellowship with heavenl^^ societies, who are one 
with the ascended Christ in the ministry of heaven to 
earth. With full spiritual illumination all the psychic 
powers awake to spontaneous activity, as illustrated 
in the Master. The mental faculties, taking* on an 
intuitive action, are lifted above the limitations and 
drudgery of the sensuous plane. 

Many instances of seership have been the unsoug-ht 
and spontaneous experience of some of the most saintly 
souls of religious history. Man^^ striking illustrations 
are given in both the Old and New Testaments. The 
testimony of these interior, exalted and heavenly ex- 
periences is worthy the most serious attention and 
study of all who would learn of man's higher nature 
and possibilities. The seership which opens the soul of 
man in the body to independent converse Avith angelic 
beings, is legitimate, normal and exalting in its char- 
acter and influence. "We have a striking and beauti- 
ful illustration of this in the experience of our great 
Exemplar and his three favored disciples on tlie 
mount of transfiguration. We have in that example, 
also, an equall^^ suggestive and instructive illustration 
of the true conditions of such high communion and 
exalted experience. We read that ^"^ Jesus taketh with 
him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up 
into a high mountain apart by themselves to pray. 
And as he prayed the fashion of his countenance was 
altered and he was transfigured before them. And 
his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was 
white and glistering; And, behold there appeared 
unto them two men which were Moses and Elias: who 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 159 

appeared in glory, and were talking with Jesus. But 
Peter and the^^ that were with him were heavy with 
sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw his 
g*lory and the two men that stood with him/^ 

External Conditions.— As a preliminary and neces- 
sary condition of this high experience, they sought 
the solitude and silence apart from the bustling stir 
and hum of the outward life, where the attention could 
be wholly yielded up to a season of divine communion 
and heavenly converse, without danger of interruption 
from external diversion. This the^^ found in the still- 
ness of night and the hush and quiet of a loftj^ moun- 
tain retreat. 

Opening of the Door. — When the proper external 
conditions were thus established, the first step was 
pra^^er, in which the soul opens itself to communion 
with and inspiration and teaching from the Divine. 
He led ^' them up into a high mountain apart by them- 
selves to pray.'^ The sole object of the retirement 
was prayer, to seek full and undisturbed communion 
with God the All-Father. For this to be perfect 
there must be full entrance into the spiritual degree of 
the mind, which in turn requires complete withdrawal 
from the external, and the stilling of self, that the 
divine voice may be heard and the revelation be com- 
plete. " When thou pray est, enter into th^^ closet [the 
inner sanctuary] and when thou hast shut thy door, 
[the door of outward sense] pray to thy Father which 
is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret 
shall reward thee openly." In thus withdi*awing from 
the external and concentrating the whole attention 



160 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

upon the divine within^ in full and trusting* desire for 
communion with God as child with parent, the spirit- 
ual degree of the mind is opened and the inbreathing 
of the divine^ the kindling- touch of the Father's love 
and wisdom are unmistakably realized. This uplifts 
the soul to the serene heights of spiritual vision and 
understanding, and the needed revelation is perfect. 
If angelic ministry and communion are needed^ they 
will immediately open to the soul thus prepared to 
receive them^, as with the Master and his three disci- 
ples on the mount. 

Seership Normal to the Spiritual Man.— To one 
who has attained to the spiritual life in the flesh, the 
regenerate life of the spiritual man, this is as simple 
and easy an act, as is the corresponding concentration 
of the attention and absorption of the mind in any 
special interest and activity of the sensuous life by the 
natural man. But to the unregenerate or unspiritual- 
ized^ it is something yet to be attained. This very 
process, however, or attitude and effort of the soul 
persisted in, is the direct and certain way of attain- 
ment. There will come to every honest effort in this 
direction some degree of inspiration and inward lead- 
ing. If this is sacredl3^ cherished and strictly followed, 
the work of regeneration, involving corresponding 
transformation of organism, begins. As the spiritual 
life unfolds under the divine inspiration and leading, 
the soul enters conscious^ deeper and deeper into the 
realization of the spiritual life, and rises correspond- 
ingi}^ above the plane and limitations of the sensuous 
life and understanding. Sooner or later this will lift 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 161 

the seeker into the full freedom, power, and inward 
vision of the spiritual man, the final illumination and 
gifts of the Spirit, as illustrated by the Master, and to 
a high degree in Apostolic experience. 

While this divine attainment is unquestionablj" 
within reach of all, some will have more to over- 
come than others; yet none need despair who truly 
desire it. It is the birthright of all, since in his 
spiritual nature, every man has a divine as well as 
human parentage and heredity. The recognition 
of this in desire, faith and consecrated effort for its 
realization is all that is required of any soul. The 
transforming power thus evoked is of God, whose un- 
changing love and providence for His children are 
eternally and unalterably pledged to this result. 
Until the organism is prepared through the opening 
and unfolding of the spiritual life under divine influ- 
ence, for full illumination and the exercise of normal 
seership, no one can enter into the full spiritual degree 
of the mind except by the abnormal process of the 
ecstatic trance, in which all the avenues of sense to the 
outer world are locked in profound repose. The mind 
thus disentangled from the influence of sensuous im- 
pressions, and inwardly awakened, may often be lifted 
to the mount of vision. Tliis, as before renuirked, has 
sometimes occurred in mesmeric experiments, and also 
in the spontaneous trances referred to above. This 
was evidently the condition of the three disciples on the 
miount with Jesus; for we read that "Peter and they 
that were with him were heavy with sleep : and when 

they were fully awake [mwardly or in the trance stnte] 
11 



162 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

they saw his g-lory and the men that stood with him/' 
When the trance and the vision were to end, the Mas- 
ter himself restored them to outer consciousness by 
his word and touch. ''And Jesus came and touched 
them, and said. Arise, and be not afraid. And sud- 
denly, when they had hfted up their eyes and looked 
round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus 
onl}^ with themselves.^' Those who have had experience 
with the g-enuin3 spiritual trance, will recognize the 
accuracy and faithfulness of the picture here sketched 
by the evangelists. "As they came down from the 
mountain, Jesus charged them to tell no man of the 
vision.^' These words of Jesus imply that what they 
had seen was not with the external sight, but the inner 
and higher spiritual vision. 

Nature of the Transflguration. — There is always 
some degree of external transfiguration in the heav- 
enly glow and radiance which beams from the counte- 
nance of the rapt ecstatic, and sometimes this is ex- 
ceedingly striking and impressive. This must have 
been true and transcendently striking and impressive 
with the countenance of Jesus during that season of 
special spiritual exaltation ; but to the vision of the 
disciples his '' raiment ^^ also, "was white as the light, 
and glistering.^^ This is positive evidence that the 
vision was spiritual and not physical, as the raiment 
could not be transfigured with light to the ph^^sical 
sight. With their opened spiritual vision they saw 
him as they did Moses and Elias — a spirit. They saw 
him robed in light, the pure white light of his own 
spiritualized being. 



THE KEYS OF THE KlKai)OM. 163 

The act of entering into the purel^^ spiritual state and 
holding" this high communion^ was normal to Jesus, 
and easily effected through the subordination of the 
outward to the inward spiritual sense^ by the simple 
act of abstraction and introversion^ or the transfer of 
attention and desire from the outward to the inward 
life, without the entire suspension and closing of the 
external. But with the disciples, in whom the spirit- 
ual life had not yet been fully opened, trance was a 
necessity to spiritual vision and high communion; and 
the touch and assuring words of the Master were 
also needed for their immediate restoration to outward 
consciousness. Let it be remembered that regenera- 
tion or the full unfolding of the spiritual life, trans- 
forms and perfects the organism as an instrument for 
the exercise of the spiritual gifts, and through the per- 
manent illumination it secures awakens all the psychic 
powers of the soul into spontaneous activity as needed. 
This is a condition of normal seership and occult power 
that may be wisely and safely desired and sought by 
all. 

Dangers of Mediumship. — Intercourse with the 
spirit world, and communion with the departed — who 
are often made the guardian angels of thedr loved 
ones here — is, under proper conditions, not only possi- 
ble and legitimate, but certainly ver^^ comforting to 
those who mourn the apparent loss of the departed. 
But the ordinary phases of mediumship are not the 
normal and legitimate way of seeking this communion. 
The normal exercise of spiritual claii'voyance, clair- 
audience and tlie psychouietric sense, is the only iv- 



164 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

liable and legitimate method of seeking- direct con- 
verse with the departed, or attendant spirits. All 
other methods are unreliable through the liability 
of imposition from deceiving spirits^, even through the 
purety mechanical methods, allowing all that is claimed 
for them. But aside from this, the trance of medium- 
ship under the controlling influence of spirits is abnor- 
mal and illegitimate, and fraught with great risk and 
danger to the subject thereof. To yield our will or 
organisms to the control of the will of others, and be- 
come a mere automaton for their intelligence and opin- 
ions, is destructive of our individualitj" and personal 
character. Personality^ and will are the most precious 
and sacred trusts, committed to us for cultivation, per- 
fection and proper exercise, and cannot be yielded up 
to the control of another's will and intelligence with- 
out the violation of these trusts and obligations. 

The Giver of this divine birthright will not encroach 
one hair's breadth upon the liberty he has thus be- 
stowed ; neither will any human spirit, whether in or 
out of the body, who is at one with Him. Both the 
practice and results of such control are abnormal and 
unsatisfjang. It is first attained b3^ the breaking down 
and overcoming of the individuality^ and will, by an in- 
fluence external to the personality. This is exact re- 
verse of the divine process of reaching true and perma- 
nent illumination through the unfolding of the spirit- 
ual life from within. This by bringing out the divine 
element in man gives nobility and strength to the 
individualitj" and character, and clothes the will with a 
power of resistance to evil and a corresponding power 



THE KEYS OF THE KIKGHOM. 165 

for good which partakes of omnipotence itself. The 
subjection of the consciousness and will to the domi- 
nanc® of another personality, whether in the body or 
out, however intelligent and honorable the operator 
may be regarded in a given case, cannot be practised 
without weakening the will and thus prove demoraliz- 
ing to the individuality and personal character of 
the subject. The danger lies in the fact that it can- 
not be followed without rendering the subject neg- 
ative, and increasing his susceptibility to any and 
every ps^^chic influence, good or bad, with which for 
the time he may be in contact. And while there is so 
much that is perverting in the present condition of life 
and influence in the world, to say nothing of the pos- 
sibly corrupting influence from the lower circles of the 
spirit world, the danger referred to need only be men- 
tioned to become fully apparent. 

The power and influence thus obtained by men or 
spirits over others may not in man^^ cases be abused 
and turned to bad account, but this is no excuse for 
seeking or desiring it. It certainly opens the door 
of danger and liability to such abuse, and gives no 
assurance that the subject will not fall under malign 
influences through his psychic susceptibihty thus in- 
tensified. Is not this, in fact, the very source of a 
Uirge part of the corruption, fraud and immorality 
which has disgraced the spiritualistic movement, to 
the regret of the pure and true who are interested in 
it, and the popular disgust of the general public, nnd 
of many who might otherwise be interested in its in- 
vestigation ? Experiment has demonstrated the fact 



166 THE PATH^VAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

that all the psj^chic powers of the sixth sense, includ- 
ing- clairvo^^ance, clairaudience and psj^chometry, can 
be fuU}^ unfolded and exercised by the subject himself 
without the loss of identit^^, or the subjection of the 
will and personality to another^s control. This form 
of psychic culture streng'tliens and develops individ- 
uality of character and will^ and gives the subject per- 
fect control over his own organism and sensations.* 

Mediumship not Spirituality. — It will be seen from 
the above that the cultivation and practice of every 
phase of mediumship which depends upon '' spirit con- 
trol^'' is abnormal and injurious to the medium. It 
is neither regenerative nor spiritualizing, but rather 
degenerating and demoralizing to the subject; it 
opens the world more fuU^^ to the corrupting and 
degrading influence of disorderly spirits. The sooner 
these facts are recognized by ''^spiritualists/^ and 
all desiring a true and uplifting communion with the 
departed, the better it will be for the cause of a 
true spiritualism. The sooner they turn from their 
vain seeking of the promised gifts of the Spirit, 
through the mistaken gatewa}' of mediumship, to the 
true source of illumination through the divine inmost 
of their own souls, the sooner will they find a true 
and soul satisfying angelic communion, fraught with 
divine blessings unmixed with danger. Instead of 
seeking the materialization of the spirits to the senses, 
let them rather seek the spiritualization of their own 

" For a full and lucid exposition of the psychic powers, their 
cultivation and training, see Author^s work, '* The Way, the 
Truth and the Life." 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 167 

being" throug-h divine inspiration and communion^ and 
they will soon be lifted to the perfect life of spiritual 
supremacy and illumination in the open vision of the 
Spirit. No other evidence of the immortal life will be 
needed^ and power will thus be given to w^ork for the 
corresponding elevation and emancipation of all souls 
in the depths of ignorance and spiritual darkness 
either in or out of the bod}^ When the same time 
and earnest effort are given to the true work of spirit- 
ual realization and divine illumination that is now 
g-iven to the cultivation of mediumship and the pursuit 
of phenomenal spiritualism^ there Avill come results 
into the lives of the seekers infinitely more satisf^'ing, 
exalting and inspiring than is possible to mediumship^ 
in its least objectionable phase. 

The inevitable tendency of phenomenal spiritualism 
and external manifestations is to absorb the attention 
in the phenomena, and thus divert from all thought 
and effort after inward spiritual development and 
divine realization. Seek first the knowledge of God 
and the realization of divine sonship and brotherhood, 
through personal communion with and inspiration 
from the Father, and the certainty of immortality^ and 
the possibility- of a divine career for all men is settled 
forever. Dwelling and walking in unity with the ' 
Father in all things will secure all needed angelic 
ministry and communion. Can we not trust the wis- 
dom and goodness of the Father in tliis as in other 
matters? When desire for angelic communion lioUls 
the first phice in 1,li(^ mind and lieart, unily and fellow- 
ship with the Father become a secondary ronsidei'a- 



168 THE PATHWAY OF TPIE SPIRIT. 

tion if the}' do not fade out completely from serious 
thoug'ht and desire. The attempt to make spirit- 
ualism a religion, or to make spirit intercourse and 
communion in any sense a basis of religion, will ever 
prove a failure. The only possible basis for true re- 
lig-ion — and there can be but one true religion — is 
union and communion with God as the Father of 
men; and the realization of this, as it always has, 
will secure in its true and subordinate iDlace, ang-elic 
ministry and communion, with the sense of the great 
Brotherhood of souJs in every world and sphere of the 
Father's boundless kingdom. 

The Spiritual Life uot Opened by Death.— Since 
spirituality comes only from tlie unfolding of the spirit- 
ual life, the mere passing to and existence in the world 
of spirits does not lift man to the plane of the spiritual 
life nor open to him its treasures. A man out of the 
physical body may be no more spiritual than in it. 
There may be just as hard-headed materialists, agnos- 
tics, atheists and dreamy pantheists there as here, 
since that world is as objective and external to them 
as this world is to us. Men rise spiritually^ in the 
ranks of being only as they unfold inwardly in the 
divine life and consciousness. God is not found in ex- 
ternals nor through any exoteric search or intellectual 
effort. God is Spirit and His kingdom is within. All 
that is external pertains to form and the outward life, 
and is but the shadow of the real, the spiritual and 
divine. God and His kingdom are not found in the 
shadow but in the substance. ''The kingdom of God 
Cometh not with observation : Neither shall they say, 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 169 

Lo here I or^ lo there ! for, behold, the king-dom of God 
is within you/' 

Spiritual birth and regeneration is a necessit^^ to 
ever3" soul, here or there, before it can have the true 
vision of God and rise to the plane of the 'spiritual 
man. Death, or the passing- from the physical to the 
spirit world, does not change man's relation to God, 
nor the attitude of the All-Father toward His children; 
His merc}^, forgiveness and loving kindness endure for- 
ever. All worlds are His and His providence is per- 
fect in every sphere. Death, or the dying to one world 
and waking to another, is as simple a matter as 
falling asleep at night and waking in the morning. 
It neither suspends the necessity of spiritual regen- 
eration, nor ends the opportunity and privilege. 
The dogma that probation or opportunitj^ ends with 
the death of the body is a fiction of theolog}^, and a 
libel on the changeless character and quenchless love 
of the Father. The opening up and unfolding of 
spiritual life in the soul is the only door and pathway 
to the kingdom of God, the onl}^ entrance into the more 
interior and exalted spheres of the celestial heavens. 

The soul of the natural man on passing to the world 
of spirits, will remain on the plane of the natural life 
and be held in the sphere of self-love forever, unless he 
voluntarily^ seeks the kingdom of God in the realiza- 
tion of spiritual life in personal experience. And what 
is more serious still, he who persistently resists the 
call of the Spirit, which is heard in every soul and 
speaks in every earnest apixsjl and tlirough every 
lii'ovidence of life, is in danger of moral deterioration 



170 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

and the delusions of the selfish spirit — liowever much 
he maj^ unfold in intellectual power — and all the more 
for increased pride of intellect and self-worship. This 
law applies equally to life here or there, for in the de- 
velopment of intelligencej, man ma^^ unfold in subtlety 
and wickedness as well as in wisdom and g-oodness. 

Nothing Arbitrary in tlie Divine Economy.— In 
this necessity of the " strait gate '' and '' narrow way ^' 
of spiritual birth and regeneration as the onl}' means 
of rising from the plane of the natural to that of the 
spiritual man, there is nothing arbitrar3^ nor severe. 
It is the same kind of necessity that requires phj^sical 
birth into the sensuous life, and growth from infancy 
to manhood for the primary development and disci- 
pline of the natural man. The wisdom and beneficence 
of the Father are revealed in this necessity, in that He 
has thus opened a wa^^ whereby man as His child may 
and must become a co-worker and participant with 
Him in the work of destiny. The door and pathway 
are open equally to all, and the invitation and help is 
proffered with equal fulness and freedom to all. 
Hence, by perfect co-operation with the Father the 
perfect life on earth or in the spheres may be attained 
by all. The earthly life and experience, therefore, will 
not be complete, nor the purpose of the Father be ful- 
filled in them, until the kingdom of God in the perfect 
life is realized on earth as it is in heaven. 

Man an Inspirational Being.— Man, as we have 
said, is distinguished from the animal b^^ the posses- 
sion of a rational, moral and aspirational nature, while 
he has conjoined thereto all the animal qualities and 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 171 

functions. The aspiration al power necessaril}^ involves 
a corresponding- inspirational capacitj^ This is his 
noblest specific power for self-improvement and eleva- 
tion^ since his aspirations open him to inspiration from 
the centre and sphere of life and activity, upon Avhich 
his aspirations are focussed. It may also become a 
means of deg-radation as well as elevation, according to 
the character of the ideal upon wiiich the desires are 
centred. The character and development of man are 
determined larg-ely by his dominant ideals and desires. 
"When therefore the Christ ideal of the king-dom of 
God and its perfect life of divine communion and fel- 
lowship, or walking" Vvith God in the flesh, have been 
set before the mind as the supreme object of desire, 
they become the g^oal of aspiration, or prayer and 
effort. When this attitude of soul is fully established, 
man is opened to permanent inspiration from the 
sphere of the Divine, under which he is led into real- 
ized oneness of life with God which bring-s the full and 
abiding illumination. 

The Niitural and the Spiritual Man, — The natural 
man in the primary consciousness of his sensuous life 
is the child of Nature from whom he received his 
physical organism and heredity. On this plane of con- 
sciousness he realizes only his relations to and depend- 
ence upon the natural world for his existence and 
sustenance. The spiritual man, or man awakened to 
the consciousness of his dec^per spiritual natuiv and 
relations, is the child of God, from wlu)m he reciMved 
his permanc^nt spiritaial identity and indest met ihli^ 
organism as a diviue heredity. In this deeper iialui-e 



172 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

he inherits and holds potential!}^ the (inalities and 
attributes of the Father^s Being-, which insure him an 
immortal destiny and the possibilities of a divine 
career. In this birth of the spiritual consciousness 
man awakens to a realizing- sense of his divine sonship, 
and in all things his vital relation to and dependence 
upon the Father. As the natural man was generated 
on the plane and under the law of the sensuous life, 
so he must be reg-enerated from the plane and under 
the law of the spiritual life, before he can rise to the 
hig-her level of the spiritual man and actualize his 
divine sonship and brotherhood in experience. 

The highest level of consciousness reached by the 
natural man is attained through the senses, by the 
evolution or unfolding- of the intellectual and moral 
powers in their relation to the ph^^sical world. The 
hig-hest intellectual attainment possible to this plane, 
g-ives no power to apprehend the spiritual nature and 
Being- of God, nor any true understanding- of spiritual 
thing-s. Hence the multiplicity of conflicting- opinions 
concerning- them, on the plane of the sensuous under- 
standing, which, in the New Testament, is called the 
^'^ carnal mind.^^ The creeds and theologies of the 
world are mostl}^ the products of the sensuous under- 
standing, as only the natural man would construct a 
creed and make its acceptance b^^ others a condition 
of salvation. The Master set no such example. The 
controlling principle and law of life in the natural 
man is self. The controlling principle and law of life 
in the spiritual man is love. The one desires to rule; 
the other to serve. '' Hereby know we the spirit of 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 173 

truths and the spirit of error/^ Spiritual things can 
be understood onl3^ through spiritual experience and 
illumination, from the unfolding of the spiritual nature 
and life. The elevation of man from the plane of the 
sensuous life to that of the spiritual can, therefore, be 
effected only through the awakening and evolution of 
the spiritual life in the soul under the quickening touch 
and inspiration of the Father^s Spirit. 

Divine, unselfish love being the essence and law of the 
spiritual life, its evolution in man exalts, transforms 
and co-ordinates all his powers of soul and body under 
its spirit, and lifts him to its own divine plane of spon- 
taneous freedom, righteousness and povv^er of service. 
Regeneration is thus seen to be the higher spiritual 
evolution of humanit^^ and Divine love the regenerat- 
ing power. 

Organic Changes Involved in Regeneration.— The 
opening of the spiritual life in man, and the higher 
activity of the soul's powers under its supreme law of 
love, quickened and carried forward b^^ the immediate 
inspiration of the Father's Spirit, effects corresponding 
changes as before intimated, in the organic conditions 
of the brain and nerve centres as the physical instru- 
ments of these activities. This important truth needs 
further emphasis. 

Wh3^ should there be organism at all ? Becaust^ life 
is manifest in specific form and expression only in and 
through organism. We know absolutely nothing of 
life in active manifestation only as it is embodied and 
expressed in organic strnctHi'(\s, each sti'nctnre ri^pre- 
senting in form aJid texture the chai'acteristic and 



174 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

controlling- principle of the embodied life. "" God giv- 
etli it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed 
its own body/'' Hence unless the org-anism in form^ 
texture and qualit^^ exactly corresponded with and 
correctl}^ expressed the controlling- principle and char- 
acteristic attributes of the embodied life, the ver^^ 
object of org-anism would be defeated. The stalk of 
barley differs from that of the wheat, and both of 
these from the corn and other g-rains growing- side by 
side from the same soil and under like conditions, 
simpl^^ because the principle of life engermed in each 
differing- seed unfolds and becomes the life of the 
stalk, and determines the character of the structure 
in which it is embodied and expressed. This is the 
supreme law of org-anism, and will bear frequent state- 
ment because of its importance. 

Under this law is manifest the absolute power of 
life over the material it uses in the construction, recon- 
struction and repair of org-anisms, converting- it into 
an^^ kind and qualit^^ of substance or tissue required. 
Veg-etable life thus lifts mineral substance to its own 
level, and converts it into the kind and quality of 
veg-etable texture that shall be identified with and 
represent the specific form of life embodied in any 
g-iven structure. The same is true of animals and man 
in the transformation of substances used as food, so 
that every org-anism on any plane of life is identified 
with and correctly represents the essential character 
and quality of the life it embodies. Hence, when the 
soul of man is fully opened to the spiritual life and be- 
comes imbued with its hig-her princix:)le of unselfisli love. 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 175 

the external organism comes under the hig-her vital 
chemistry of the spiritual life and law, which transforms 
or reconstructs the body into a perfect organic expres- 
sion of its own divine quality and character. The 
brain is the organ of the mind, the physical seat or 
centre of action for all the conscious powers of the 
soul. It is also the co-ordinating centre of all the vital 
and mechanical activities of the body, so that all the 
vital centres of the brain are specifically related to, 
and connected with, corresponding vital portions of 
the dependent organism. Hence, as the brain is the 
throne and centre of the souFs powers, and at the same 
time the co-ordinating and controlling centre of the 
entire organism, the physical body, as a whole, is both 
the organic instrument and physical temple of the 
soul during its connection with the outward world. 
The brain being the throne room and centre of power, 
as is the brain so will be the body, and as is the soul 
so will be both brain and body. 

In accordance with this controlling law of organism, 
the human brain and body must and do correspond 
with and essentially represent the character and qual- 
ity of the souFs life, the difTerences in the organisms of 
men corresponding exactly with their diO'ering char- 
acteristics in these respects. As the higher attributes 
unfold and become prominent, the bod}^ takes on 
refinement to correspond with the change. If the 
animal come into undu(^ prominence and activity, 
the body takes on grossness and expr(\sses imiinal- 
ity. "When therefore* tli(' sj)ii-itiial Jiatiiri* and its 
supreme attribut-e of divine love unl'okl and come to 



176 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

their rightful supremac^^, the physical organism will 
become the complete incarnation and expression of 
that nature, '' the Word made flesh/' 

As is the soul, so will be the brain and body; and 
when love becomes the animating life of the soul, the 
principle of love in activitj^ will so open the life to the 
divine influx, that the soul's powers will be held under 
the immediate inspiration of divine wisdom and good- 
ness against error and sin, and the body kept secure in 
that life against the power of poison and disease. The 
one involves the other. '' They shall take up serpents; 
and if the^^ drink any deadh^ thing it shall not hurt 
them; they shall lay hands on the sick and the^^ shall 
recover.'' 

It should be emphasized continually in mind and 
thought, that the transformation to be effected em- 
braces the entire man — bod}' as well as soul. It seems 
needful to press this point, because it has been so 
entirely overloolvcd in the traditional teaching. The 
potent influence of decided mental impressions over 
the vital processes, and the limiting power of imper- 
fect ideals over both thought and effort, add to this 
necessity. This all-inclusive transformation, for which 
perfect faith is required, is the gospel j)romise; and, 
as we liave seen, a physiological and organic necessity 
of spiritual regeneration. The physical body is to be 
lifted as much above the power of poison and the 
possibility of disease, as the soul is raised above the 
power of temptation and the possibility of sinning. 

The Ideal Man of the Gospel.— The unmistakable 
ideal held up by the Christ for the attainment of men 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 177 

in the present life^ was the perfect manhood of a true 
son of God, in whicli the divine perfections of the 
Father's nature and character were to be reproduced 
and represented. This, however, he especially em- 
phasized as impossible to man b}^ his own unaided 
effort, 3^et possible to all through divine help which 
the impartial Father freely gives to all true seekers. 
No power less than the quickening- touch and inspira- 
tion of the Father's Spirit, can awaken and bring to 
fruition the germs of divine attribute and power 
latent in the soul of man. The divine provision and 
regenerating power are absolute and perfect, await- 
ing only the desire, faith and co-operation of man. 
This co-operation is the supreme and onlj necessity. 
The ideal, invitation and promise are of God, and 
the infinite and changeless love of the Father is 
pledged to their fulfillment through the co-operation 
of His children. The rapidity and thoroughness of 
the transformation and realization will depend in 
great degree upon the personal devotion to the ideal 
in thought and desire, the firmness and energy of the 
faith, and the corresponding closeness of the walk with 
God in humble dependence, communion and trust. 

Nature of the New and Higher Life.— Tlie per- 
sonal realization of that divine relationship which 
binds man to God in the love and loyalt3^ of child to 
Parent, and the divine communion and inspiration 
thus secured, constitutes the new and spiritual hfe. 
Tlie growth and development of tliis hfe is in the 
dec^peniug and unfolding of that love and inspiration, 

througli a living, vital contact and unbroken commun- 
is 



178 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

ion with the Father's Spirit. The reahzation of divine 
sonship and the faitli it awakens^ are possible onl^^ 
through love in the heart for God as a Father. The 
child of an earthlj^ father ma}" have a full recognition 
of his relation, but unless he have a genuine love in 
his heart for the father, he has no true appreciation 
or realizing sense of this tender and sacred tie of kin- 
ship. So man may have an intellectual conception of 
his relation to God, but until the heart is oiDcn to a 
genuine love for the Father, a passionate desire for an 
intimate and unbroken communion and fellowship 
with His Spirit, he has no true realization of this ex- 
alted and holy relationship. Love to God can be 
awakened in the human heart only through a realizing 
sense of His Fatherhood, and of His tender and su- 
preme love for us as His children. "^^We love Him 
because He first loved us."' It is the privilege of each 
soul to feel that he is as precious to the Father as 
through he were the only child. 

The awakening of love to God through a realizing 
sense of His Fatherhood and love to us, and of the 
perfect security and indestructibility of the individual 
life in Him, constitutes the true spiritual birth. It is 
the opening of the life of love in the soul under the 
melting touch of the Father's Spirit, in response to 
the heart's supreme desire. The quickening and un- 
folding of the faculties and powers of the soul under 
the inspiration of this divine life, and the correspond- 
ing transformation of body, is the work of regenera- 
tion. The constant love and loyalty of the heart 
toward the Father is necessary for the perfect growth 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 179 

of His love and wisdom in us, since He can give Him- 
self to us only throug-h love, and this to be effectual 
must be mutual. If our love grow cold and cease, we 
close the door of entrance against His love, and re- 
generation stops at that point; and unless the soul 
return immediately in love and penitence, moral de- 
generation begins. Self-love, pride and ambition bring 
in their delusions and insanities to take the place of 
divine inspiration and guidance. Hence the necessitj^ 
of the narrow way of loyalty to the Father in the 
constant and unswerving love and faith of the heart. 
With this, regeneration goes forward under the con- 
tinuous inspiration of the Father^s Spirit, until the 
transformation is complete. The level of the Christ- 
life is then reached, and the power of temptation and 
sin over the soul and of poison and disease over the 
body, and all danger of either moral or physical de- 
generation are gone forever. The prince of this world 
Cometh and findeth nothing in him. He has attained 
to and dwells in the perfect life. 

The Prophecy of Evolution, one with The Christ 
Ideal. — The prophetic testimony of evolution in Na- 
ture and in man points, as we have seen, unmistaka- 
bly to the final realization of this Christ ideal and 
promise of the perfect life, in the universal experience 
of mankind. Since evolution is but the coming forth 
and embodiment of spiritual principles in external or- 
ganism, and their spc^cialization in organic function, 
the ultimate of this process can be nothing less than 
the final embodiment of all the attributes of divinity 
in a perfect and perinancMit incarnation. As QYcry 



180 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

new and advanced embodiment is but the type and 
starting- of an entire order or family;, the evohition of 
one man to the level of such an incarnation is but the 
beginning- of an experience which^ through an under- 
standing of this law and principle, shall ultimately 
come to the entire race. 

Allowing therefore, the genuineness of the Christ 
experience, his example will sooner or later be under- 
stood and followed and his experience essentially re- 
produced in all. Thus will his claim of being "The* 
Way, the Truth and the Life,^^ for all men be estab- 
lished in the practical experience of the race. As or- 
ganism is but the incarnation of specific attributes or 
principles of life in organic function, the final incarna- 
tion of all the Divine attributes will give not only the 
perfect character in personality, but the perfect or- 
ganism as well. The individualization and embodi- 
ment of such a personality and character would be 
impossible without their perfect expression in organ- 
ism. The processes of evolution will be incomplete 
until both of these ends are accomplished; the one in- 
volves the other. Recognizing life in Nature as the 
manifestation of an immanent God and a Divine prov- 
idence, and evolution as His law and method in crea- 
tion, then the promise of evolution, or of God in Nature 
and man, is a divine incarnation, or the reproduction 
of Himself in the bringing forth of the final order of 
His true sons and daughters in the earth. 

Thus the Old Testament millennial prophecies, the 
Christ ideal and promise, the apocalyptic vision of the 
beloved Disciple, and the promise of evolution, all 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 181 

point to and prophesy the one ultimate result, the 
divine and perfect life in the universal experience of 
mankind. Evolution thus not only involves the ideal 
and promise of the gospel of Christ, but is itself the 
law of their fulfilment. It is the '' Word ^^ and law of 
God, as the universal Father in both Nature and the 
Gospel, and both are one in Him. The study of evolu- 
tion in connection with the moral law of human re- 
sponsibility^, throws a flood of lig-ht upon the Christ 
doctrine of regeneration, and demonstrates its divine 
origin and also its necessity in the nature of things. 

Human Responsibility. — The processes of evolution 
below man and culminating in him, were largely if not 
wholly spontaneous and automatic. When man ap- 
peared, however (a god in embryo), holding in his life 
as the embodied offspring of God the engermed attri- 
butes of the Father's nature, he was necessarily en- 
dowed with self-Avill, or a self-directing and self-deter- 
mining power. At first in his primar^^ and savage 
state, this power as well as his observing and inven- 
tive faculti(^s had to be urged into activitj^ by his 
physical necessities, necessit^^ being ^'t\\e mother of 
invention." When these powers became sufficiently 
developed through the exercise thus secured, the mere 
love of invention as well as of the exercise of power 
thus awakened became an additional incentive and 
powerful motive to further activity and development. 

The same was true of the primary development of 
tlH^ int(^llectual and moral powers. Knowledge was a 
necessity to the understanding and improvement of 
the evironment, and removal of causes of sulfering. 



182 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIHIT. 

The pursuit of knowledge under this sx)ur of necessity 
developed the intellect of man^ and enabled him to im- 
prove his condition and enlarge the s^Dhere of his life. 
This added to his growing love of knowledge for its 
own sake, carried forward his intellectual development, 
and opened to him the ever-widening fields of science, 
I)hilosophy and inA'ention. 

The Moral Sense. — The accumulation of possessions 
developed the sense of personal rights and this with 
the instinctive attachments of family ties and kinship, 
and finally of tribal relations, rendered necessary some 
form of common laAv and standard of ethics. This in 
turn deepened the sense of personal responsibility, and 
thus was started the career of moral development 
corresponding with the intellectual and social advance- 
ment. Man has thus risen from a state of savage 
animalism to a high degree of civilization, through the 
evolution of his intellectual and moral powers on the 
external plane under the law of the sensuous life, 
which is self. This law was a necessity to the primary 
awakening and development of the human powers, by 
which alone man can be lifted from the ignorance and 
darkness of the infant and savage state to an intel- 
lectual and moral consciousness. This gives the sense 
of personal responsibility and establishes the recog- 
nition and the necessity of obedience. Until this is 
established man is not prepared for the higher free- 
dom of the spiritual life, in which, under the motives 
and insiDirations of truth and righteousness, he becomes 
a law unto himself. For this higher spiritual evolution 
of man, the evolution and final embodiment of the 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 183 

divine attribute of love, which will crown the soul 
with intuition, wisdom and a new power of mastery, 
and evolve thereby the true civilization, it is left for 
him to respond to divine sug-gestion and invitation 
and become a co-worker with God. These sug-gestions 
and invitations are and ever have been abundant in 
the striking- indications of Nature and Providence; 
and especially in the inspirations of seers and prophets, 
and finally in the full " Word made flesh '' in the '' Be- 
loved Son.^^ 

TheLawofthePerfectlife— ^^Ye therefore shall 
be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.'' To 
be a true child of God and become perfect as He is 
perfect, man must become the incarnation of the spirit 
of love which is the Essence of the Father's nature 
and the law of His king-dom. In proportion then as it 
is unfolded in man he comes under the inspiring 
motive of the divine life, which prompts to unselfish 
and impartial service. 

To be at-one with God in His righteousness, is to 
be in unit^^ with Him in the spirit of love and service. 
There is no other basis of unity with the Father, nor 
with the Christ His loyal Son and our divine and loyal 
Brother. ''And this is hfe eternal, that they might 
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
thou hast sent." To know God as Father through 
love from the heart as His child, is the only real 
knowledge of God, and the only way He can be known; 
and to know Christ thus as our Brother is the only 
true knowledge of the Christ, and the only way in 
which he can become the Christ to us. To know 



184 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Christ as the Son of God and the Brother of men is to 
understand the nature and possibihties of our own 
divine sonship and brotherhood. 

Only throug'h the inspiring- motive of love can we 
be absolutely loyal to God in our relation to Him as 
His child, or loyal to man in our relation to him as 
brother, which alone will secure perfection to the indi- 
vidual and social life of man on earth or in the spheres. 
Love then is the law of the perfect life and so the per- 
fect and perfecting- law of life. "Love is the fulfilling 
of the law.'" 

Theory and Fact. — This is true and beautiful in the- 
ory, but can it be made absolutely and unequalifiedly 
true in experience, will be the practical question of 
many who will read these pages. Do I, can I love 
my enemy, one who hates me and despitefully uses 
and persecutes me ? or even my neighbor as mj^- 
self? No! to the natural man this is impossible. 
He is living on the plane and under the law of th3 
sensuous life, and the law of that life is self. He 
must be born again, born from above, born of the 
Spirit, and lifted by its regenerating and transforming 
power to the higher plane of the spiritual life, the law 
of which is Love. " Verily, verily, I say unto thee,^^ 
^' Ye must be born ag-ain.^^ " That which is born of the 
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is 
spirit.^^ 

" Then said one unto him. Lord, are there few that 
be saved ? And he said unto them. Strive to enter in 
at the strait gate : for many I say unto you, will seek 
to enter in and shall not be able. Because strait is 



THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM. 185 

the gate and narrow is the waj^ that leadeth unto Ufe 
and few there be that find it/^ In view of the difficul- 
ties so apparent^ the question was raised, Who then 
can be saved ? To which the Master repUed, " With 
man it is impossible, but not with God : for with God 
all thing's are possible/^ " Fear not, little flock ; for it is 
your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom/^ 
On one occasion, when explaining to his disciples 
the true principle and spirit of praj^er, he gave them a 
parable illustrating and enforcing the necessity of im- 
portunity^, or a persistent determination, based on a 
sense of imperious need that will not ^ield one jot of 
seeking, until the need is supplied, and the thing de- 
sired is attained, which implies faith at the outset, 
that the persistent effort will be successful: then 
added, " Ask and it shall be given j^ou; seek and ye 
shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto 3^ou. 
For every one that [thus] asketh receiveth; and he 
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it 
shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of an^^ of 
you that is a father, will he give him a stone ? or if he 
ask a fish will he for a fish give him a serpent ? or if 
he shall ask an egg, will he ofl'er him a scorpion ? If 
ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto 
your children; how much more shall j^our heavenly 
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him/' 



PART IV. 

INSPIRATION AND DIVINE ILLUMINATION: THEIR 
SPECIFIC NATURE AND DISTINGUISHING CHAR- 
ACTERISTICS. 



I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will 
guide thee with mine eye {Ps. xxxii. 8). 

There is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them un- 
derstanding (Job, xxxii. 8). 

These things have I spoken unto you being yet present with you. But the 
Comforter which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he 
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever 
I have said unto you (John, xiv. 25, 26). 

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How- 
beit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all truth, . . . 
and he will show you things to come {John, xvi. 12, 13). 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 

The Fact of Inspiration. — We have said that man 
is an aspirational and therefore an inspirational being*. 
In the nature and constitution of thing^s there can be 
no normal demand without its appropriate and certain 
supply. Every legitimate desire is an innate or con- 
stitutional demand which implies both the reality of 
the thing desired and the power of its attainment and 
appropriation. The relation between desire and the 
g-ood desired is vital and org-anic in the nature of 
things, which makes the supply and gratification not 
only legitimate, but under proper conditions inevitable. 

Aspiration is an eager desire and innate longing 
after unattained good, which implies a normal demand, 
for which there is, therefore, the legitimate and certain 
supply. The relation between the soul and the higher 
state or condition desired being vital, its realization is 
not only possible and legitimate, but under proper 
conditions certain. Just as expiration or breathing* 
out from the lungs, is followed in living bodies by fresh 
inspiration or inbreathing from the atmosphere; so 
aspiration, which is a breathing* out of a vital want, or 
true prayer, opens the soul to an immediate influx, 
inbreathing or inspiration of life and power from 
spiritual centres of supply, which, in due time, brings 
the full realization of the state desired. 



190 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Under the universal law of demand and supply it 
will be seen then, that the power of aspiration involves 
the power of a corresponding* inspiration. This neces- 
sarily uplifts and expands the souFs life, and leads to 
ultimate realization, or final unity and identification 
with the state and condition desired. This is the 
foundation of all real progress in the life of man. 
Aspiration is true prayer, since " Prayer is the souFs 
sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed," and all true 
prayer is practically answered. The spiritual experi- 
ences of mankind, previously considered, demonstrate 
be^^ond all question the fact that in all ag'es men have 
aspired after and received inspiration from a sphere 
of life and intelUgence above the level of their own 
realization, by which they have been led and lifted 
from lower to hig-her conditions. It remains for us to 
consider more specifically the laws and conditions as 
well as the nature and sources of inspiration. 

Nature and Basis of Inspiration.— In the phj sical 
world the attraction of gravitation binds atom to atom 
and world to world in one complete system of relations 
which involve unceasing action and reaction, in which 
each exerts its specific influence upon the others ac- 
cording to its magnitude and density, and is corre- 
spondingly reacted upon by them. In the interaction 
of sun and planets the central orb exerts its specific 
influence upon each individual particle of matter on 
the subordinate planets of its system, and in turn, the 
tiniest grain of sand upon each globe exerts its pro- 
portionate power of attraction, or influence and reac- 
tion upon the sun. 



WHAT IS INSPIBATION? 191 

This principle is none the less true in the realm, of 
mind and the world of souls. There is a corresponding" 
law of psychic attraction and repulsion which holds 
the world of souls in an equally inevitable network of 
relations, interdependence and interaction, in which 
each soul influences all other souls with whom it comes 
into psychic relations, and they in turn influence it. 
Each person is thus a subject of psychic influence from 
his associations, as well as a living* centre of radiating 
influence upon others. As material bodies exert an 
influence in proportion to their magnitude and density, 
so do living, thinking beings exert an influence accord- 
ing to the measure of their personality and activit3^ 
This law is as universal and spontaneous in the world 
of mind as is gravitation in the realm of matter, 
whether man is conscious of the fact or not. The per- 
sonal influence is none the less potent for being silent 
and unrecognized. It should be remembered that the 
most potent forces of the world are always silent. 

There is this difference, however, between inanimate 
bodies and living souls: In self-conscious and self- 
determinate beings the measure of personal influence 
is modified by the varying dominant mental and emo- 
tional states. Under the stimulus of intensified men- 
tal and emotional activity, it is correspondingly aug- 
mented; and in the opposite state of inactivity and 
dormant mental and emotional life it is proportionally 
lessened. Again, the influence which eacli exerts upon 
others, tends to awaken in tliem eitlioi' a coi'respond- 
ing activity in sympathy with the influence that called 
it forth, or in opposition to and reaction against it. In 



192 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

either case the reaction is returned upon the centre 
of influence from which it was awakened. 

The Power Thus Couferrecl.— Man thus affects in 
greater or less degree^ for good or ill^ all within the 
circle of his influence^, and especially those with whom 
he holds specific relations. The character of the influ- 
ence which he exerts will be determined hj the char- 
acter of his dominant mental states; that is, whether 
his feehngs and desires are charged with good or ill;, 
love or hatred, a s^Dirit of self-seeking, or of sympathy 
and service. Hence the importance of cultivating a 
spirit of good-will and the development of a harmoni- 
ous character, that the personal influence be exerted 
only for good. This is quite as essential to the per- 
sonal interest of the individual as to those upon whom 
his influence is exerted; since the reaction awakened 
by his influence is returned upon himself. What adds 
special cogency" and importance to this suggestion, is 
the unavoidable fact that the influence of each one 
affects in greater or less degree manj^ ; so that the re- 
action of the many is returned upon the one. Hence 
the great truth emphasized hy the Apostle, ^'^Whatso- 
ever a man sows that shall he also reap,'' and, we may 
add, with increase, '^some thirty, some sixty and some 
a hundred fold.'' If he sow to the wind he wfll reap 
the whirlwind; but if he sow love and good-will mto 
the lives of men, blessings will be returned to him 
many fold. 

Mental Alchemy. — Since man may cultivate his 
powers and learn to control or determine his mental 
and emotional states, he may by an understanding of 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 193 

this law, make himself a power for g-ood, as in ignorance 
of it he may be a power for harm. In seeking the 
good of others, man really finds the most potent 
means of his own exaltation. There is a mental al- 
chem3% so to speak, based upon the working of this 
law, which holds a tremendous potency for good or ill 
little dreamed of by the mass of men, though recog- 
nized by some. This is the true basis of healing" physi- 
cal diseases by a strictly mental process often blindly 
applied under the name of '^ Mind-Cure,^^ '^ Metaph3^si- 
cal Healing,^"" '^ Christian Science Treatment,^' etc. It 
is also the basis of the '''White Magic "" and " Black 
Magic ^' of the East, where this law in some of its 
phases is more thoroughly studied and understood 
than with us. 

Measures of Inspirational Capacity, — Under this 
law the measure of a man's inspirational capacity will 
be determined by the degree of his impressibilit3\ 
That is, he receives continually into his being influ- 
ences that awaken in greater or less degree activities 
corresponding with the influence that called them 
forth, and w^hich modify in some measure his own 
spontaneous impulses, and thus aflect the develop- 
ment of his character. 

This psychic impressibility is susceptible of an indefi- 
nite normal cultivation, development and intelligent di- 
rection, and may thus be made the mightiest means 
for the exaltation and perfection of man. Through it, 
as wi}. shall show, he may make himself tlie recipient 
of the divinest influences and ministry of lieaven. This 

impressibility, like all the gifts of God, is designed to 
13 



194 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

bless, but may be perverted and turned to unmeasured 
harm. For it is equally susceptible of abnormal de- 
velopment and perverted use, by which its possessor is 
broug-ht under the molding- and corrupting* influence 
of malign and dangerous powers. By it he may be 
plunged into the lowest depths of mental slaverj^ and 
imbecility, moral depravit^^, obsession or insanit^^ 

The richest, choicest gifts of heaven when perverted 
become the most blighting curses. History is full of 
illustrations of this truth; and to shut our eyes to its 
recognition and attempt to ignore its lesson is a dan- 
gerous and suicidal policy. The only insurance against 
any and all possible harm is a thorough knowledge 
and understanding of the laws of being, and an intelli- 
gent co-operation with the will and purpose of the di- 
vine wisdom and goodness in them. This alone will 
secure perfect immunity from danger in any direction; 
while ignore-ance, especially of this central law of our 
being, is the greatest enemy of man and hindrance to 
his progress. It is through a knowledge of this law 
and the normal cultivation and proper direction of 
this impressibility, that man may place himself under 
the immediate inspiration and guidance of the divine 
wisdom and goodness and attain, in due time, full and 
perfect illumination and mastery. In the working* of 
this law we have the nature and basis of inspiration ; 
and it requires no argument to show that there are 
various phases and degrees of inspiration, and that all 
inspiration is not of a divine and uplifting* character. 

A Choice of Inspiration. —AH men are to some 
degree subjects of inspiration, and the kind of inspira- 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 195 

tion they shall have depends upon themselves. The 
nature of a man^s inspiration will ever be determined 
by the character of his personal aspirations or dominant 
desires. This law of influence is, as we have said, spon- 
taneous and universal, and man thus practicall3" deter- 
mines by his aspirations, or desires, the character of 
the inspiration he receives, or the influence by which 
he is to be affected, modified, and to a g-reater or less 
deg'ree molded for g^ood or ill. One involves the other. 
Aspiration is a yearning after the divine and heavenl}- , 
or that which is above present realization; and opens 
man to the inspiration and ministration of the same. 
Desires, Jiowever, may be from abnormal and perverted 
conditions, and centered upon that which is beneath 
a true manhood. The g'ratification of such desires, 
and the influences to which the}^ subject man, can but 
degrade him to lower depths of sensuous slaver^^ and 
moral debasement. All aspirations are desires; but 
all desires are not aspirations. As a ps^^chic being and 
a subject of influence, man necessarily^ opens himself 
more or less to the influence of that circle or sphere 
of life and association on which his aspirations or 
dominant desires are centered. By a knowledge of 
this law he will be enabled wisel}^ to select his associa- 
tions, or if forced into unfavorable associations by cir- 
cumstances be3^ond his control he will be on liis guard, 
and fortified against their perverting influence. Some 
are temperamentally more sensitive to and conscious 
of psychic influence than others; yet the mass of man- 
kind are tlius led and held to certain lines of thought 
and experience by the powerful influence of association 



196 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

and environment. A few exceptionally strong* and 
decided individualities rise in psj^cliic power and in- 
fluence above their environment^ and instead of being- 
molded by prevailing- ideals and traditions, orig-inate 
new ideals and standards, and become themselves 
positive centres of influence and inspiration to mold 
others and lift communities and even nations to hig-her 
levels of thoug-ht and life. The mass of men, however, 
are larg-ely the creatures of circumstance and en^a- 
ronment, and insensibly the subjects of the subtle 
psychic influences generated in the sphere and circle of 
life with which the^^ are associated. It is thus that the 
flctitious authorib}^ of tradition and popular opinion 
exert such a tremendous influence over the manj^ 
Nevertheless the specific qualitj^ of the influence that 
most affects each individual, is determined b}^ the 
character of his own dominant desires, and the particu- 
lar centre upon which thej^ are fixed. 

Knowledge Here Gives Power. — As the law of he- 
redity was desig-ned to advance and lift each g-eneration 
above the preceding- one, and not to entail a tendency 
to vice, disease or crime, by which it ma^^ sink below, 
so this law of ps^^chic impressibility^ and influence was 
desig-ned to exalt man and lift him ultimatelj^ to the 
realization of his divinest possibilities, not to enslave 
and hold him in bondage to false standards and de- 
basing- influences. It is onl3^ through ignorance that 
man becomes the slave of either; and a practical un- 
derstanding of the law puts into his hands the key 
to his own emancipation and ultimate perfection. This 
psjxhic impressibility, we repeat and emphasize, is 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 197 

susceptible of systematic cultivation and intelligent 
direction^, so that a man may learn to open himself to 
and draw to himself, any quality of inspiration de- 
sired; and at the same time close himself to and fortify 
himself against any influence undesired. 

By this practical understanding" and application of 
the laws and conditions of inspirational development 
and spiritual education, man may lift himself out of 
subjection to unfavorable association and environment, 
and become a positive centre of influence and power 
for good in the emancipation and elevation of others. 
We say man may thus lift and elevate himself; we 
should rather say that man thus takes hold of a power 
which lifts, transforms and perfects his being. This 
inspirational capacity possessed by all, and which can 
be indefinitely increased, ma}^ thus become and will 
yet be made, the most efficient means of personal ele- 
vation and improvement, as well as of general emanci- 
pation and development. It is our purpose here, to 
show that there is no man, however low he may have 
fallen in bondage to enslaving influences, or however 
strongly'' he may be bound and held in the chains of 
sensuality and vice, but still has the inherent abilitj^ 
to lay hold of this emancipating and saving power, 
and that a knowledge of the law we are here enforc- 
ing, will enable him to practicallj^ use this abiUty. 

Evcr}^ man, we have said, has a human heredity 
and a divine heredity. Only the human can become 
perverted and enslaved. The divine heredity, man's 
divine inmost, is the pure spirit which can never be 
perverted nor corrupted. In the lowest deptlis of 



198 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

perverted and depraved humanity this remains the 
pure divinity, and its voice which is never wholly 
silent, is forever the changeless and incorruptible 
Word of God speaking- in the soul of man. Through 
this divine, indestructible and incorruptible centre of 
his being, he will forever have the ability to lay hold 
on God and join himself with the forces of divinit3^ 
When the human has spent all its substance in riotous 
dissipation, and fallen to its lowest depths, the man as 
the child of God may still, as in the parable, come to 
his true self and remember his Father, and with this 
memory return to the Father, and what the result 
will be is sufficiently told b}^ the Master in the parable 
of the prodigal. 

Said the great Apostle, who clearly understood and 
defined this law, '' Be not overcome of evil, but over- 
come evil with good.'' And again, '' Finally, my 
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of 
his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that jq 
may be able to stand against the wiles of the deviL 
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of 
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked- 
ness in high places. Wherefore take anto you the 
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to with- 
stand in the evil da^^ and having done all, to stand. 
Stand, therefore, having 3^our loins girt about with 
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel 
of peace; Above all taking the shield of faith, where- 
with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 199 

the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation^ and 
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God/' 
The Threefold Character of Inspiration. — To 

make the practical application of this g-reat law of in- 
spiration simple, direct and specific, it will be neces- 
sary to refer again to the threefold nature of man 
and his corresponding- relations to the threefold uni- 
verse to which he belongs, and of which he is a living 
vital and organic part, and, indeed, of which he is a 
reproduction in miniature — a microcosm. First, to 
the external and material world with which he is re- 
lated through the physical senses, and by which he 
has acquired his sense-consciousness. Second, to the 
inner occult or soul-world — the soul of things as well 
as of men— with which he is, as a living psychic per- 
sonality and social being, related through the great 
law of the unity and solidarity of life, out of which 
spring the relations and interactions between indi- 
viduals and things, alreadj^ noticed. It is through this 
relationship that man has acquired his soul-conscious- 
ness, or the indestructible sense of personal identitj^ 
and responsibility in relation to other personalities and 
things. This relation being twofold — external and 
internal — the soul-consciousness when fully developed 
comes to embrace both. That is to say, all animate 
things have an outward form and an inner soul life 
and identity, which gives configuration and character 
to the form. Man as a full^^-established, sc^lf-conscious 
ps3^chic and social being, has an external and an in- 
ternal plane of rehitionship and activity towaid men 
and things, tlirough which he attains to this twofold 



200 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

consciousness. By a process of normal introversion 
previously referred to, the activity of the external 
senses is turned inward and opened upon the psychic 
plane where the five senses in this higher action com- 
bine on their mental side to form what is called the 
sixth or psychometric sense. This hig-her psychic 
sense is spontaneously^ active in the experience of 
many, and may be profitably cultivated in all.* 

Third, to the sphere of the Divine, within, behind 
and above the changing- world of form and phenomena ; 
and still deeper, within, behind and above the soul- 
world, or sphere of personalities and things, the realm 
of the Impersonal, Universal and Absolute, the region 
of pure Spirit and governing principles, the kingdom 
of God in which alone His Being and presence can be 
fully realized. To this sphere of the Divine, man is 
related through his own divine inmost or spiritual 
nature as the offspring of God. When the recogni- 
tion of this sphere and man^s normal and vital relation 
with it is full and decided, and the entire and undi- 
vided attention of the soul in aspiration and faith is 
turned within and centred upon God in earnest and 
determined seeking for the realization of His presence, 
through the yearning love of the child for the Father, 
the spiritual or God-sense is opened, and direct com- 
munion with and inspiration from the Divine is real- 
ized. The God-consciousness becomes thus perma- 

* For a full description of the psychic development and train- 
ing, and for the specific exposition of the threefold constitu- 
tion and relationship of man, see the Author s book, " The 
Way, The Truth and the Life," 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 201 

nently established in the realization of divine sonship 
and the inexpressible felicity of its love, which brings 
him into unity with the Father, and the brethren. 

Man throug-h this deeper, inmost and spiritual na- 
ture, which is the last to come to the recognition and 
realization of personal consciousness, is more fully and 
vitally, because permanently and indestructibly, re- 
lated to and rooted in God than he is to the external 
system of things we call Nature, and of which he is so 
pre-eminently conscious. Accordingly, when this deeper 
spiritual consciousness is opened, and established in the 
full sense of his Divine relationship, he is lifted forever 
above the limitations of the sense-sphere and the bond- 
age to sensuous impressions, and enthroned in spiritual 
supremacy over all his relations to external things. 
In this threefold nature and relationship of man, we 
have three clearly defined and distinct spheres to 
which he is specifically^ related, and from which he may 
draw and receive direct inspiration. Both the sense- 
sphere and the soul-sphere are external to himself, and 
inspirations from them are consequently from with- 
out; while the Divine and purely Spiritiuil, or God 
sphere is within yet above the soul, as it is within and 
above the soul-world and all things. Hence Divine 
Inspiration is in no sense from without man, but 
through his own divine inmost fi'om within, yet above 
the plane of his spiritual consciousness, which involves 
an indestructible sense of dependence upon the Divine 
as well as a differentiated personal consciousness. 

The Specific Application. — By keeping this three- 
fold nature and relationship of man in mind, the prac- 



202 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tical application of this great law of inspiration be- 
comes simple^ direct and specific. Since aspirations or 
dominant desires determine practically the source and 
character of the inspiration^ it will readily be seen that 
if the desires are centred wholly in the sense sphere, 
the inspirations and molding* influences will be of a 
sensuous character. This will tend to hold man in 
subjection to the sense-consciousness and its limita- 
tions^ and is liable to perversion and he through it to 
corresponding degeneration. 

If he centre his aspiration and desires upon the 
higher planes of intellectual and social activity, and 
put forth corresponding effort for their realization, he 
opens himself to the inspirations and molding influences 
which flow from that s^Dhere of life, and focalizes them 
upon himself. He thus becomes strengthened, uplifted 
and more rapidl^^ unfolded by them to higher levels of 
personal life, and helped to attain the goal of his de- 
sire. In like manner if he centre his attention and 
desires upon the psychic side of his relation to men 
and things, he opens through introversion the inner 
and psychometric sense and penetration, which brings 
him into conscious sympathetic contact with the inner 
life, character and condition of persons or things to 
which the attention is specifically directed, and reads 
them like an open book, independent of external con- 
tact. If he push his ps3^chic powers in their develop- 
ment in this direction, he will find open communication 
with people of the inner world, the home of the de- 
parted. 

All this we repeat, and especially emphasize, may be 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 203 

attained through a normal development, without the 
induction of the trance, loss of external consciousness 
or any abnormal experience whatsoever. In the very 
process of the normal development of the psychic 
powers, and the practice of ps^xhometr^^, the individu- 
ality and personal character, instead of being- weak- 
ened as in the abnormal mediumship of " spirit con- 
trol/' is strengthened and made self-asserting and 
vigorous. This is effected through the attainment of 
perfect control over personal desire, physical sensation 
and the animal impulses which this training necessi- 
tates. The perfect development and normal exercise 
of the psjxhic powers, especiall^^ the higher phases of 
ps3"chometr3^, are impossible without this control. 
Fortunately^ this is secured by the very process of 
normal introversion and psychic training (see "The 
Waj^The Truth and The Life^')- For this attain- 
ment time and persevering, sj^stematic effort are 
needed, as for the masteiy of an^^ art or science; but 
with these comes a corresponding insph^ation and help 
to the seeker from the very sphere of attainment to 
which he aspires. This he draws by his own persist- 
ent concentration of desire or prayer, and consecrated 
cifort. 

If, however, his supreme aspiration and heart's de- 
sire are centred upon the realization of the presence 
of God in the soul, in communion with and guidance 
from Him, and he hold iiimself in faith to this divine 
centre, he will presently come under the immediate 
conscious inspiration and guidance^ of the Fath(M'\s 
Spirit, and be tliereby open to the diivct^ inlhieiue of 



204: THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

all hol}" ministration and Heavenly fellowship). This 
brings forth and establishes the divine in man and 
g-ives him the spontaneous mastery of all lower and 
subordinate spheres and influences. He thus l)ecomes 
a focalizing- centre of divine inspiration and power 
within himself^ which puts him in a positive attitude 
and relation of good toward all that is external to 
him. Since this divine realization is the evident object 
of man^s beings as the child of God^ the opening of his 
life and consciousness to the immediate inspiration 
and guidance of the Father's wisdom and goodness 
should be the first and supreme aim and effort of his 
Ufe. 

The Two Methods Contrasted. — We have said that 
the successful development and exercise of the ps3xhic 
powers require the control of the attention, and the 
perfect mastery of personal desire^ physical sensation 
and the impulses of the animal nature. To secure this 
mastery as a condition of psychic development^ thou- 
sands have retired from the world to lead the life of 
an anchorite in gloomy forests, deserts and caves, and 
have given themselves to extreme austerities of as- 
ceticism and mortification of the flesh. That some 
have thus attained this masteiw b^^ their own unaided 
effort, and with it a high degree of ps^^chic vision and 
occult power, is not denied; but when attained they 
have not yet reached siDiritaal illumination, nor what 
in the New Testament is called, ''The Gifts of the 
Spirit.^' These do not call for asceticism nor the life 
of a recluse, but they send man more fully into the 
world a lover and helper of his kind. 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 205 

Spiritual illumination is found only in and through 
the realization of the x^resence of God in the inward 
life, in conscious communion with and inspiration from 
Him as Father with child. The realization of this as 
the first step, lifts man at once from his thralldom to 
flesh, sense and materiality^, into the freedom and 
power of the spiritual life. This opens the intuition 
and psychometric penetration and power, and brings 
spontaneous activity to all needed psychic powers, 
which thus awakened under spiritual illumination, be- 
come the permanent and reliable ^^ Gifts of the Spirit/^ 
They are the legitimate expression of a regenerated 
life, a life at one with the Father and under the imme- 
diate inspiration of His omniscient wisdom and abso- 
lute goodness. This is the spiritual way of attainment, 
the method of the Christ, who bids us '^ Seek first the 
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you.^^ Seeking first divine 
inspiration and guidance we have the immediate help 
of the Father's Spirit and power. To ignore this and 
attempt to climb up to heaven some other way, or to 
attain the perfect life by human efi'ort alone is the 
Oriental method. 

There is, however, as we have elsewhere shoAvn, a 
method of normal development and training of the 
])S3'cliic povv^ers that does not require the austerities 
of Eastern asceticism. It is difficult, liowever, in tlie 
whirl and intense activity of our western life, to se- 
cure the attention and persevering effort necessar3'' 
for the successful achiev(MU(Mit of the (U^siiuHl nvsults. 
The spiritual wwy of attainment is the only immedi- 



206 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT 

ate, direct and certain method which is open to and 
will secure success to all. Since the advent and 
achievement of the Christ, as we hope to show, im- 
mediate reg-eneration and spiritual illumination are 
possible to all. Since man is of necessity subject to 
some kind of inspiration, and is molded in greater or 
less degree by it, it behooves him to select the source 
from which the molding- influences shall come. This 
power of choice is in his own hands, and when en- 
lightened why should he not at once put himself under 
the immediate influence of the highest, the Divine and 
Absolute, since this gives him the masterj^ of all ? 

The realization of life in God, and of God in the life, 
the realization of oneness of nature, spirit and purpose 
with the Father, is the only condition of the perfect 
life; and this is possible only through the opening of 
the soul by aspiration or prayer to the immediate in- 
spiration and guidance of His Spirit. This leads to 
illumination, and illumination brings divine realization, 
which is thus within reach- of all who truly desire it 
and are ready to lay down all else for this '' pearl of 
great price.^^ " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom 
of God is at hand; repent je and believe the gospel^' 
is the standing message of the Christ. 

A Uniyersal Mistate. — The naturalist seeks com- 
munion with God in and through Nature, and studies 
Nature to the end of looking " through Nature up to 
Nature^s God.^^ The modern spiritualist seeks com- 
munion with the world of spirits under the impression 
that God communes with man and inspires him only 
through heavenly messengers, or the "ministry of 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 207 

angels/' Both are vitallj^ mistaken. Nature does not 
stand between the soul and God, neither do angels, 
spirits, men nor books. God is nearer to the soul than 
Nature or angels. " In Him we live, move, and have 
our being.'' To become awakened to the realization 
of this fundamental truth, and enter into immediate, 
conscious communion and fellowship with Him as our 
heavenly Father is the supreme necessity of our being. 

There is communion with and inspiration from Na- 
ture that is lofty and grand, as the poet and scientist 
truly know. There is also communion of souls, and, 
if you please, "communion of saints"; and there is in- 
spiration that is quickening and exalting in its influ- 
ence and power, from association with superior intelli- 
gences and characters, whether clothed in garments 
of flesh, or as heavenly visitants from the unseen 
world; but this is not communion with nor inspiration 
from God. These are all external to the human soul 
as an individual; w^hile God is interior and cannot be 
found in and through externals. Man must be at one 
with God in his own being before he can be at one with 
Him in other beings or in Nature. And when he is at 
one with the Father in personal communion and fellow- 
ship, he is not dependent upon communication from 
Him through that which is external to hhnself. 

The promise is that "None shall have occasion to 
say. Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the 
least of them unto the greatest of them saith the 
Lord." When man is at one witli the Fathei* in ]iis 
own being lie is at one with himself, and with all 
beings and things, because he dwells and walks with 



208 THE PATHAVAY OF THE Sl^lRIT. 

God in all his relations and experiences in them. The 
sooner this great underlying truth is recognized and 
acted upon by all seekers after God and the perfect 
life, the better it will be; for until this first important 
step is taken, no advance can be made toward that 
divine realization for which devout souls have sought 
in all the ages. 

The Perfect Life Begun.— A shining host of ro^^al 
souls have found this divine realization, and dwelt and 
walked serenely in its high and holy fellowship and 
communion. At the head of these illuminated sons of 
God stands the Divine Galilean, ''^the Man of Naza- 
reth.'^ Whether fact or legend, the picture of that 
transcendent life which the gospel narratives hold for 
us, stands xDre-eminently above all the ideals which the 
world has had, and the words which his biographers 
accord to him are pregnant with a wisdom and insight 
found in no other Teacher. The sympathetic and im- 
biased study of these broken and imi3erfect records, 
brings an inevitable conviction to the mind of the real- 
ity of the life and character there portra^^ed. ""^ Never 
man spake like this man,^^ because he spake from an 
altitude of experience and insight attained by no other 
soul on earth. Let us not, then, fear or hesitate to 
follow Him who reached the divinest realization our 
world has known, and who from the summit of that 
experience and higher wisdom assures us that all who 
truly follow him shall share in this divine attainment. 

The Law of Inspiration.— We have said that the 
influence we exert over others, whether consciously or 
unconsciously, is charged with the dominant states of 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 209 

our own mentality, and tends to awaken and call 
forth corresponding- activities in them. Antagonism 
awakens resentment and calls forth antag-onism, hatred 
breeds ill-will, fear awakens fear, and discord brings 
inharmony; while love, charity and sympathy quell 
discordant elements, allay the troubled waters of in- 
harmony and perverted activities, subdue hatred, ill- 
will and lust, and awaken and call forth the nobler 
attributes. Again, we have said that whatever activ- 
ity Ave awaken in others, the influence of that action 
reacts upon ourselves many fold; so that if we sow 
to the wind we reap the whirlwind ; but if we sow to 
the Spirit we reap the life which endures and brings 
forth the undying fruits of the Spirit, some thirty, 
some sixty and some a hundred-fold. This law of per- 
sonal influence need only be stated to be recognized, 
since it finds its corroboration in universal experience. 
A Principle of Transcendent Importance. — There 
is one principle involved in this law which we must 
especially emphasize because of its importance, since 
it holds the sure promise of the ultimate and final re- 
demption of the human race, and which was the basis 
of all millennial prophec3\ It is this : Love is stronger 
and more enduring than hate, and Good than evil. 
Love and goodness are eternal, infinite, absolute. They 
are the very nature and Spirit of God, therefore divine 
and omnipotent. Evil being but the perversion of 
good has a beginning and must have an end. It is 
]i(^ld to llie sphere of perverted human activities and 
tliis spliere has its limitations. Wliile humanity in its 

present condition of life and development is easily 
14 



210 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

thrown out of br.lance, tempted and perverted^ when 
that hfe is regenerated and a soul under divme mflu- 
ence is led into unity of life and spirit with God^ it is 
lifted above the power of temptation, and held against 
the possibility of disturbance ov harm from any influ- 
ence whatsoever. The deadliest shafts of calumny, 
hatred and malignity can awaken no resentment, irri- 
tation nor ill-will in a soul centred in Love and unity 
with the Father. The most irritating thrusts from 
enmity, malice, envy, spite, or any form of persecution, 
can call forth from such a sou] nothing bat compas- 
sionate charity,, sympathy and kindness, returning 
love for hatred, blessing for cursing, and divinest serv- 
ice and mmistration for persecution. 

And further, as the regenerated soul unfolds more 
and more in the life and Spirit of the Father, the deeper 
and wider does its love, sympathy and ministration 
enter into and embrace the heart and life of Human- 
ity. Thus as the life enlarges in God the All-Father, 
the more fully it opens itself to the needs and demands 
of man, the brother. In this ever-deepening love and 
sympathy it takes into itself the burdens, woes, sor- 
rows and sufferings of mankind, and holding the torch 
of wisdom, perceives the cause thereof, and goes out 
in an ever-enlarging ministry of service for his salva- 
tion. Hence as the discords, antagonisms, animosities, 
cruelties, j)erversions and depravities of the world roll 
in upon the soul thus opened by love, all these discord- 
ant elements become, in that alembic of wisdom and 
goodness, blended into harmony and distilled to sweet- 
ness by the melting tenderness of a wise and loving 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 211 

sympathy, and returned in heavenly blessing to the 
world. 

Universal Redemption. — Love and goodness, we 
have said, are absolute and eternal; while evil is rela- 
tive and limited in nature, extent and duration. When, 
therefore, love and goodness become incarnate in but 
one member of the human race, the positive, perfect 
and irresistible reaction of divinity is set up in the race 
hfe, and the ultimate redemption of the entire human- 
ity is from that hour assured. The regenerate soul be- 
commg the incarnation of the Divine nature, is not 
only raised to a condition absolutely above the power 
of temptation and the possibility of perversion, but is 
charged with a divine enthusiasm to work for univer- 
sal redemption in the certainty of ultimate victory. 

A Sure Basis for Millennial Prophecy -There 
are four great fundamental facts upon which we may 
base a sure prophecy of the ultimate, complete re- 
demption of the entire human race. First: the fact 
of the absoluteness, eternity and omnipotency of the 
Divme love and goodness. Second : the relative nature 
and hmitation of evil as contingent upon the perver- 
sion and depravity of man. Third: that all souls 
whether in or out of the body are living centres of in- 
fluence upon so much of the life of humanity as comes 
withm the radius of its action; and Fourth: that any 
one soul m perfect unity with God has more power for 
good than have an army of depraved souls for hann 
He cannot be overcoinc of evil but can ovei-come evil 
with good. One with God is a majority. "One thou- 
sand shall flee at the rebid<(> of one." One shall "chase 



212 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

a thousand and two put ten thousand to flig-ht.'^ With 
these facts in mind it will readily be seen that with 
the actual beginning' of a regenerate human it}^ in but 
a single member of the race, he becomes the enthroned 
centre of the reactionary influence and power of om- 
nipotent love in active and unceasing ministration for 
the salvation of all. This will inevitabW effect the 
final overthrow of evil and the complete redemption of 
universal humanity from all perversions and depravi- 
ties, and the ultimate enthronement of the perfect life 
in all. 

The Opposite Principles Iiiyolved. — Since goodness 
once incarnated can never be overthrown, it follows 
that with the enlarging nucleus of regenerate life and 
its reactive influence, from increasing numbers of re- 
deemed ones, the accumulation of overcoming and re- 
demptive pov/er in active service must increase in 
geometric ratio, while the perverting power of evil in- 
fluence must correspondingly wane. On the present 
level of human life one perverted nature may for a 
time pervert others, and these in tarn still others, and 
thus extend the circle and augment the power of de- 
praving influence; but none of its victims can be de- 
graded or depraved beyond the power of recall. On 
the other hand let one soul be lifted through regenera- 
tion out of that vicious circle into unity of life and 
spirit with the Father, he is then above the power of 
temptation and all perverting influences. The com- 
bined powers of evil and depravity can henceforth 
awaken and call forth nothing but compassionate love, 
sympathy and heavenly ministration. 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 213 

Here is a point be^^ond which the contagion of evil 
cannot go. In that presence it is shorn of its power, 
and melts away under the reaction of the verj^ love 
and kindness it awakens and calls forth. Such a soul 
is above resentment, disgust, or the possibility of turn- 
ing away with coldness and indifference. Let the de- 
pravity of a world be turned to hatred and poured in 
murderous venom upon such a life, and all the more 
will it be bent on returning love for hatred, blessing 
for cursing, and deeds of mercy and highest service 
for persecution and abuse. 

The Supreme Example. — We have at least one illus- 
trious and victorious example of the truth of this, in 
the spirit and conduct of the Christ. When betrayed 
into the hands of his enemies, forsaken by his disci- 
ples, spat upon and contemptuously handled b}^ a brutal 
soldiery who were urged on bj^ the maddening crowd 
who were clamoring for his blood, a nation's scorn and 
hatred turned in murderous fuiy upon his defenceless 
head, and humihation and indignity heaped upon him 
by a felon's death, in that complete test of his divine 
serenity and unruffled temper, from the deep and un- 
disturbed tenderness, sympathy and overflowing love 
of his compassionate heart, he could but pra}" for his 
murderei's, '*^ Father, forgive them; for they know not 
what they do." The spirit and power of depravity 
could rise no higher and swell no further. Tliey spent 
their force and fury upon that enthroned centre of a 
divines humanity and fell powerless at liis feet, while 
on that seething sea of perverted and distorted life, 
lie poured fortli the oil of love and foi'giveness, under 



214 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

which it feU back upon itself shorn of its power and 
deprived of its venom. From that hour to this his un- 
dying- love and world-embracing" sympathy, brooding* 
in a spirit of peace, charity and mercy over the human 
race, has continued in active ministration the work of 
redemption fully inaugurated in that hour of his su- 
preme victory as the Prince of Peace and Saviour of his 
race. He could not separate himself from the life of 
the race if he would, and he would not if he could. 
Hence the spirit of love, charity, forgiveness and heal- 
ing, the Spirit of the Father incarnate in this royal 
Son, still and forever loyal to his brethren, has from 
that hour of triumph over evil, entered with its reg-en- 
erating power deeper and deeper into the heart and 
life of humanity, calming disturbed and depraved ac- 
tivities, subduing the flres of lust and sensuality, and 
awakening love, charity and good- will among* men, 
until to-day, eighteen centuries since his advent, his 
spirit and power are more fully manifest than ever 
before. 

He foresaw with clearness and certainty the final 
result of that earthl^^ victor}^, as announced in the 
prophetic utterance, '^^And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth [the power of earthly conditions], will draw 
all men unto me.^^ The victory over hell and evil was 
wrought for humanity in that hour, and the world's 
attention was fastened upon it by the tragic nature 
and circumstances of the struggle. Thus, too, his 
leadership in the new and victorious life for men on 
earth and in the spheres became established. Legions 
of regenerated souls have risen under his ceaseless 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 215 

spiritual ministry into fellowship with him, and the 
mig-hty and ever-swelling phalanx of the Spirit, one 
with him and the Father, return in the power of his 
name and spirit in this divine and heavenly ministry 
to hasten the fulfilment of that assuring* prophecy 
which cannot fail— "'And I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto me/' 

He was thus lifted up, and having seen '^'^of the 
travail of his soul shall be satisfied/' Humanity was 
anchored in divinity, and the final redemption of the 
entire race secured when he in his humanity was thus 
lifted into perfect unity and oneness with the Father's 
Spirit. The combined wickedness of the world cannot 
drag him down to its level, but he can and will lift the 
whole world unto himself. It needed but the triumph 
of one to open the door and secure the ultimate en- 
trance of all. Under Providence he proved to be that 
one. On the inevitable working of this law were based 
all the millennial prophecies. Upon the advent of this 
long-prophesied Messiah the angels of God, foreseeing 
this result of his life and work, announced, " It is he 
that shall save his people from their sins,^^ and broke 
forth in that glad song of rejoicing triumph, "Glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will 
among men.^^ 

The angelic song of coming victory shall j^et be 
fully realized. The world shall be purified under liis 
holy ministry and the millennial prophecies shall be 
fulfilled. The hells of the other world also shall be 
emptied and the eternal Fatherhood realized in the 
actualization of universal brotherhood on earth and 



216 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

in the spheres, through the triumph of that one 
loyal Son and Brother. ^'^For since by man came 
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead 
[resurrection from the state of death]. For as in 
Adam all die, even so in (Christ shall all be made alive. 
But ever^^ man in his own order : Christ the first fruits; 
afterward they that are Christ^s at his coming- [those 
that respond to his spiritual ministry]. Then cometh 
the end, when he shall have delivered the kingdom to 
God, even the Father; when he shall have put down 
all rule, and all authority and power. For he must 
reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. And 
the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. . . . 
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then 
shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that 
put all things under him, that God may be all in all.^^ 
(1 Cor. XV. 21-28.) 

Man Himself may Hasten the Time.—'' To-day if ye 
will hear his voice harden not your hearts,^^ is the mes- 
sage of inspired wisdom. We have said that through 
a knowledge of the law of inspiration man may open 
himself to or shut himself from the molding i30wer of 
any influence he chooses; and in fact, he is unwittingly^ 
doing this veiy thing when ignorant of the law. In 
whatever direction, and on whatever centre of activity 
and influence his attention is turned and his interest 
and desires awakened, he inevitably opens himself to 
the molding power of the active influence proceeding 
therefrom. And whatever appeal or centime of interest 
he diverts his attention and desires from, by their ab- 
sorption in other matters and perhaps opposing condi- 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 217 

tions and interests^ he correspondingly closes himself 
to their specific influence. 

We have said that if a man recognize his immediate 
relationship to the Divine^ through his own inmost na- 
ture, and turn his whole attention and interest in su- 
preme desire and faith on God within^ in earnest prayer 
for divine communion and inspiration^ he not only 
opens his soul to the realizing sense of the Divine pres- 
ence and inspiration, but opens himself also to the 
active sj^mpathy, interest and ministry of heaven. " I 
say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over 
one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and 
nine just persons, which need no repentance.^' The re- 
deemed in heaven as on earth, the great and mighty 
Brotherhood of Spirit are one Avith Christ and the 
Father, in this living, active and unceasing interest in 
and spiritual ministiy to the needy children of men, 
whether on earth or in the spheres — wherever spiritual 
darkness is. 

Those who have lived and wrought and died on 
earth for man, still live and pursue their labors of love 
for him with ever increasing wisdom, s^anpath}^ and 
powex. All these are one with the Christ, who, be- 
ing first in the fulness of divine realization, leads 
the holy ministry of heaven in its work for universal 
redemption. Hence this divine ministry comes in his 
name, spirit and power. When he speaks for himself 
he includes all that are one with him in this worlc and 
fellowship of love and service. "Behold I stand 'at 
the door and knock.'^ He has taken his stand to Avork 
for the spiritual awakening and redemption of luimaii- 



218 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT, 

it3^, and, like the Good Shepherd and Bishop of Souls 
that he is, he will not desert his post till the last wan- 
derer is safe in the fold. All they that have the Spirit 
of Christ Avill follow him and enter into fellowship with 
him in his labor of love and merc^^ ^'Now, if an^^ 
man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his/' 
'' If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 
To him that overcometh will I g-rant to sit with me in 
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
wath m^^ Father in his throne.^^ 

The ministry of Christ is the ministry of the Spirit, 
and embraces in its work and sympathj^ the whole 
humanit^^; it is directed to the spiritual awakening- 
and redemption of the race as a whole. Like the sun- 
lig-ht and air, and all the ministrations of the Father's 
providence, it is universal and impersonal; it becomes 
special and personal only throug'h the j)ersonal and 
specific co-operation of the individual. Each must and 
may make it as special to himself as if there were no 
other needy and dependent soul in existence. The 
resources of heaven are limitless, and are limited in 
their divine ministr^^ to man onlj^ by the measure of 
his own personal co-operation. The power and work 
is of God, but man must voluntarily put himself in 
unity with tlie spirit and purpose of that work, to be- 
come personall^^ a partaker of and participant in it. 
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trem- 
bling* [sense of dependence] : for it is God which work- 
eth in 3'ou both to will and to do of his g"ood plea- 
sure.^" '^ It is your Father's g"ood pleasure to g'ive you 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 219 

the king'dom/^ In so far as nations^ communities or 
individuals have dropped self-interest to work for the 
g-eneral g*ood, to that extent have they put themselves 
in unity with the spirit and purpose of the AH-Fathei% 
and become co-workers with Him, and received His 
special blessing* on their labors. Thej^ have thus 
opened themselves also to the special sympath3^, min- 
istry and co-operation of the unseen hosts enlisted in 
this work. 

During- the earthly ministry of the Christ, we read 
that ''^ Angels ministered unto him and strengthened 
him.^^ That ministry will never cease while the need 
of it remains. That ministry is one in him and he 
voices it to the world when he says practically: Hu- 
manity and I are one. Whatsoever 3^0 shall do unto 
the least of one of these m^^ brethen 3^0 have done it 
unto me. I have entered into the life of the race, in 
my love, sympathy and service, and have made its 
needs, its interests and destin^^ one with m^^ own. " I 
and the Father are one.^'' I am one with man 1113" 
brother and one with God our Father. When man 
responds to m3^ ministry and spirit, he becomes recon- 
ciled and at one with God and man in me. Behold I 
stand at the door and knock; if any man hear m3^ 
voice and open the door, I will come in to liim, and 
will share with him and he with me. The entin^ eiul 
and aim of the ministry of heaven is theat-oiK^-uuMit 
of man with God, his entrance into tlic kingdom of 
God in the realization of his own divine sonshi}) and 
brotherhood in unity with the Spii-it, ])iir])os(^ and 
providence of tlu) Father. When man is at one with 



220 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

God as true and loyal child with Parent, he is also at 
one with man in love, spirit and purpose^ at one with 
himself and with all things in God. Being" at one with 
God in himself, he is of necessity at one with Him in 
all things. And this is the call of Christ in the Spirit 
to mankind. 

When therefore any man awakens to a sense of his 
divine sonship and possibilities in God, and rises out 
of self in the supreme desire to be at one with the 
Fathers Spirit in his own being, and thus to know and 
fulfil the Fathers will, he has heard the voice of Christ 
and opened the door to his special ministry and help. 
As he rises into the realization of oneness with the 
Father he finds himself not only one with Christ in 
the mighty Brotherhood of Spirit, but also bound in in- 
separable bands of sympathy with the brotherhood of 
flesh: nor will he let go his hold on tliis brotherhood of 
the unregenerate, until the last one is lifted into one- 
ness with the great Brotherhood of Spirit in the real- 
ization of the kingdom of God. 

The Threefold Gospel Message.— While the Christ 
proclamation of the Fatherhood of God and the 
Brotherhood of man may be readily accepted as an 
abstract proposition, and cherished even as a pleasant 
sentiment l^y all who believe in God and in humanity-, 
the practical side of the Christ message is too easily 
and too generally overlooked and forgotten. The 
moral and physical perfection of man is the demand 
and promise of Christ's gospel. ** Ye therefore shall 
be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect."" This 
cannot be too often repeated and emphasized. The 




WHAT IS IXSPIRATION? 221 

perfect Fatherhood and providence of God^ and the 
corresponding perfectihihty of man as His child, are 
two parts of a beautiful ideal which the majority of 
people would g-ladly cherish and wish at least that it 
were true in experience. But the means provided for 
its realization is that part of the gos^^el message least 
thought of and least understood, yet it is the one vital 
part of the message. Of what value is a lofty ideal 
to us unless we also know and make use of the means 
for its realization? While the kingdom of God and its 
realization in a perfect life by man on earth were the 
ideal and the promise of Christ^s teaching, the neces- 
sity of the New Birth and '^ walking with him in the re- 
generation/' as the onty means of the divine realiza- 
tion, were the real essence of the gospel, and that part 
which was most impressively emphasized b}' the Mas- 
ter. This is so humiliating to human pride, so opposed 
in its demands to the spirit of self in the natural man, 
that it is not welcomed, and so comes to be ignored, 
overlooked and forgotten. Men prefer trying to climb 
up to heaven and the higher realization some other way. 
If it be asked wh^^ eighteen centuries of Chris- 
tian teaching have failed to impress this supreme 
truth and its divine ideal of possible realization for 
man on earth, upon the minds and hearts of men, we 
can find but one answer — Spiritual things are spii'itu- 
nlly discerned. The spiritual eyes of the teacliers 
have not been open to perceive the full message of the 
gospel. They hav^e neithcM* caught nor taught tliis 
Christ ideal of the perfect life for man on (*ai*Mi. Ac- 
cepting tlie ideal of the fathers they haxe been blinded 



222 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

by tradition from beholding- the divine ideal and prom- 
ise which has clearl}" shone in radiant beauty during* 
all these centuries^ from the gospel record. The ideal 
and the promise are there, for all who have eyes to 
see. The teachers have been ^"^ blind leaders of the 
blind." Interpreting all things from the sensuous un- 
derstanding, not having the spiritual vision which 
penetrates behind the letter to the Spirit, they have 
built up systems of theology on the letter of Scripture 
which they have mistaken for the gospel, and have 
taught the fictions of theological speculation in the 
place of the gospel. They have imagined and taught 
the fiction of a fallen race, an angry God and a hell 
of endless torture, from which man is to be saved by 
a scheme as barbaric and blasphemous as this concep- 
tion. No soul wiiose spiritual vision was ever opened 
to perceive and realize the loving Fatherhood of God, 
and the supreme value and importance of the human 
race and its destiny to Him as the offspring of His 
love and the infinitely tender object of His providence 
and care, as taught by the Christ, could for a moment 
cherish this caricature of "Our Father in heaven." 
'Such teaching would necessarily^ prevent the recogni- 
tion of the Christ ideal and promise of the sinless and 
perfect life on earth, and so the motive for effort at 
realization. 

Concerning the New Birth. — The supreme neces- 
sity of the second birth, officially announced and em- 
phasized by the Master as the only door of entrance 
into the kingdom of God, renders it of unspeakable im- 
portance that all should have a clear apprehension of 



WHAT' is INSI^IRATION? 223 

its nature and character, and of what is really involved 
in the experience, since without it not a step of perma- 
nent advance can be taken in the realization of God. 

When the Jewish Rabbi came to inquire of Jesus 
concerning the new doctrine of the kingdom of God 
which he was preaching*, the divine Teacher answered, 
" Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born 
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God/' As this 
seemed to puzzle the Rabbi, who evidently could think 
of birth only as applying to a physical body, or in a 
physical sense, asking, " How can a man be born when 
he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's 
womb and be born ? '' the Master added that the real 
man— who, in his thought and teaching was a spiritual 
being — must be twice born : first under material con- 
ditions and relations requiring a physical body; then 
under spiritual conditions and relations in that bod3^ 
As a spiritual entitj^, brought forth to conscious per- 
sonal existence under material conditions, he must 
first awaken to the consciousness of tlie outward world 
and his relations to things under which he is indi- 
vidualized and differentiated as a personality^, which 
constitutes the first birth; afterward he must awaken 
to the consciousness of his deeper and permanent rela- 
tions with the inner spiritual kingdom — the kingdom 
of God— to which he is indestructibly related \>y the 
spirituality of his being, which is the second birth. 
" Verilj^ verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born 
of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the 
kingdom of God." That Avater was here used as a 
symbol of the changeable, transitory and evanescent 



22-1 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

character and conditions of life in the senses, is evident 
from the words that follow, as a part of the statement, 
^"^That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that 
which is horn of the Spirit is spirit.''' The life of flesh 
and sense is indeed transitory, chang'eable and mortal; 
while the spiritual life is permanent, divine and inde- 
structible. "Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye 
must be born again.'^ All the fleshly activities and 
the conscious experiences of the soul's life based upon 
them, are born, or awakened and called forth bj^ con- 
tact with the outer world through the senses; hence 
these pertain onh" to the sensuous life and understand- 
ing*. The senses belong to the flesh, and all the activi- 
ties of bod^^ or mind awakened by impressions from 
the outer world through them, are " born of the flesh '^ 
and belong to the sphere of the sensuous life. 

Spirit and spiritual things, all that pertain spe- 
cifically^ to the kingdom of God, are not and cannot be 
revealed to or discerned through the physical senses. 
They are deeper and above the sphere of sensuous ob- 
servation and experience. '' The kingdom of God com- 
eth not with observation."" " The natural man receiv- 
eth not the things of the Spirit of God, . . . neither 
can he know them because they are spiritually dis- 
cerned."" All those activities of the soul which are 
awakened and called forth by active contact and con- 
scious communion with the Divine Spirit, are ^' born of 
the Spirit."" They are spiritual in character and per- 
tain to the spiritual life and kingdom of God — the 
supremacy and reign of love, truth and righteousness 
in all the relations of life and experience. 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 225 

Birth Pertains to Soul or Conscious Being. — It is 

the birth of the soul to which the Scriptures refer, the 
body being" but the physical instrument of the soul's 
activities. It is the inner spiritual org-anism which in 
its complete individualization and awakened activities 
constitutes the indestructible form and personality^ 
'"^ There is a natural body and there is a spiritual hodjJ^ 
Until this understanding* of man is embraced fairly in 
the thought, no progress will be made in the under- 
standing of the New Testament teaching, since all its 
references to man are based upon this conception. He 
is treated as a moral and spiritual, not as a physical 
being. His body is always referred to as something* 
that is his. He is not the physical body nor the physi- 
cal body he. It is identified with him as something- 
that belongs to him; but he is not in the same sense 
identified with it. '' For we know that, if our earthly 
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens. . . . For we that are in this talx^rnacle 
do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be 
unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortalit^^ might be 
swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wi'ought us 
for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given 
unto us the earnest of the Spirit.^^ 

Children of the Kingdom Twice Born —The great 
Apostle saw that life in the senses was but a rudiment- 
ary state of being, as a preparatoiy step to a higher 
r(^alization in which it was to be clothed upon with the 
higher s|)iritual consciousness of IxMug, and bcHH^me 
swallowed up of life.'' "For this corruptible must 



« 



226 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on im- 
mortality. So when this corruptible shall have put 
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on im- 
mortality, then shall be broug-ht to pass the saying- 
that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory.'^ 
The Apostles had been born into the new and higher 
life of the Spirit, and were spiritually unfolding under 
its regenerating processes and transfiguring power; 
and so much of the divine life as they had thus experi- 
enced was to them the earnest of the Spirit, prophetic 
of the ultimate, complete transfiguration. 

The very figure '^'^ birth ,^^ used by the Master, implies 
the radical change in the condition of being- which it 
brings to every one who passes through it. It implies 
the birth into a new and entirely different order of life 
from that hitherto experienced. The tremendous pos- 
sibilities it opens to inan in the new life to which he is 
thus introduced — possibilities which are utterly beyond 
the reach of the natural man — stamp it with the su- 
preme importance which the emphasis of the Master 
gave to the event, and to which a no less radical term 
could apply. 

Physical Sense the Prototype of a Higher Spiritual 
Sense. — Should the five senses remain closed and in- 
active at physical birth, the innate powers of the soul 
would not be awakened into action, and there would 
be no consciousness of personal existence; the soul 
would not then be born into this world though the body 
were. It is the awakening of the soul to the conscious- 
ness of personal existence through the activity of its 
innate powers, first called forth by the stimulus of im- 



WHAT IS ikspieatio:n^? 227 

pressions from the outer world tliroug'h the senses, 
which constitutes the first or primary birtli referred 
to by the Master, as being- "' born of water/^ or '' of the 
flesh/' Tlie yet higher awalcening and activit3^ of the 
soul's powers on the plane of the spiritual life, by the 
immediate inspiration from the sphere of the Divine 
Consciousness, through the deeper spiritual and God- 
sense, gives the spiritual consciousness of being and of 
divine sonship. This is being "born of the Spirit/' 

The ph^^sical body and the sensuous life are obvi- 
ously^ a first necessit3^ to the individualization of the 
human soul and its powers, and the establishment of 
a self-conscious personality^ in its differentiation from 
the Divine Being and consciousness, and in its relation 
to other personalities and things. This first and pri- 
mary sphere of the self-conscious personality and its 
activities, in its relations with the outward world in 
which the intellectual, social and moral faculties are 
awakened, individualized and established in their pri- 
mary functions, constitutes the life of what, in the 
New Testament, is called *'the natural man/' When 
this is fully established, however, " the time is fulfilled '' 
for the soul to be awakened to the consciousness of its 
spiritual being as the ofispring of God, and of its vital 
and immediate relations to the Father and His spirit- 
ual kingdom. The natural man in his consciousness 
of being dw(^lls on tlie plane of physical existence 
within th(^ sph(^re and under tlu^ dominion of the 
s(^nses. Tlie awakening of the consciousness to this 
sphern^ of relations is the pi'imary or sensuous birth. 
The spiritual man dwells above tlu» plan(^ of the senses 



228 



THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 



and the limitations of sense perception, in the illu- 
mination, freedom and mastery of the spiritual life, to 
which physical sensation and material conditions are 
completely subordinated. The awakening* of the con- 
sciousness to this higher sphere of relations is the 
second or spiritual birth. 

Not a Fallen State. — The plane of the sensuous life, 
and the org-anic limitations of the '^ natural man ^' 
were not reg-arded by the Christ as a fallen state, from 
some pre-existent condition of holiness and perfection. 
No allusion to such a conception is to be found in his 
teaching-. He referred to it as the first or primary 
and leg"itimate stag-e in the evolution of the souFs con- 
sciousness, from which man was to rise by an orderly 
process of awakening* to the higher realization of his 
spiritual being* and relations. The very method of 
his presenting* his doctrine of the king-dom of God and 
his call to its new life implies this. " The time is ful- 
filled and the king*dom of ^od is at hand.'' This was 
practically saying that man as he is has had sufficient 
experience on the plane of the sensuous life to have 
his attention turned to the recognition of the higher 
possibilities of his being, and seek the realization of tJie 
spiritual life in the body, aqd rise to w^lk and dwell 
in communion and fellowship with the Father. It 
was his special mission to awaken man to the recogni- 
tion of these higher possibilities by opening the doc- 
trine to his understanding through precept and para- 
ble, and demonstrating its reality by a living example 
in his own experience. 

The second birth, which opens this new kingdom of 



WHAT IS mSPmATION? 229 

life, is the awal^ening of the soul to the consciousness 
of its spiritual being as the child of God, and its im- 
mediate relationship to the Father, under a quickened 
sense of the Father's love and providence, and g-iving- 
itself unreservedly to the inspiration and leading* of 
His Spirit. The earnest desire or prayer of the heart 
for comm-union with the Father and the guidance of 
His wisdom, is itself the opening of the God-sense and 
the birth of the God-consciousness in the soul. The 
souFs cr3^ '^ O my Father, is Allah's answer. Here my 
child/' It is evident, therefore, that the primary de- 
velopment of self-consciousness and the souFs powers 
through the discipline of experience in the school of 
the senses, was a necessary step as a preliminary prep- 
aration for the higher education and experience in the 
school of the Spirit* The first birth was a necessary 
prelude to the second — "Except a man be born of 
water and of the Spirit,^^ etc. 

The New Birth Based upon the Divine Sonship of 
Man. — Whether the doctrine of the divine sonship of 
man so specifically taught and emphasized by the 
Christ and his great Apostle to the Gentiles be ac- 
cepted or not, the Christ doctrine of the New Birth 
can be correctly understood and interpreted only in 
the light of this conception. The entire ethics of 
Christ's teaching are based upon this supposed rela- 
tion of man to God as child to Parent, and the corre- 
spond mg relation of man to man as bretliren of a 
common family. No doctrine of the Lord Clirist can 
be correctly uiulcM'stood and a])[)li(Hl, (\xcept in tlu^ light 
of this conception as tlie fundamental basis of all his 



230 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

teaching-. The Fatherhood of God, the divine possi- 
bilities of man as his child, and the immediate and 
complete realization of this divine relationship in hu- 
man life and society, was the central idea at the root 
of all his teaching- and personal ministry. This means 
the actual reproduction or unfolding of the nature and 
attributes of the Father in the life and character of 
His children. It is ^^ the Word made flesh ^^ in universal 
experience, the divine attributes incarnate in the or- 
ganic life of the sons and daug-hters of God on earth 
as in heaven. This in the teaching of Jesus was the 
end and object to be reached in the earthly experience 
of men, and the Second Birth was a means to and the 
first step in its realization. Whether this was a chi- 
mera of his thought or a divine reality possible to all, 
let his own transcendent life as an Exemplar and 
Model, and the corresponding experience of his Apos- 
tles who took him at his word, be the answer. 

The necessity and nature of the Second Birth were 
based upon the recognized yet undeveloped and un- 
realized powers of the human soul as the immediate 
offspring- of God. A moment's reflection will make 
this obvious. If indeed man is the child of God, he is, 
we repeat, a reproduction in embryo of the Father's 
nature and attributes. These are all latent or poten- 
tial within him, as the very germ of his being, even as 
the full-grown oak is potential in the germ life of the 
acorn, and the powers of tbe man are latent in the 
embr3^onic life of the unborn infant. The various 
stages in the g^ermination and development of the life 
of the tree or of man, are but the birth into org-anic 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 231 

and functional activit}^ of powers and attributes that 
were latent in the spiritual germ of the tree and of 
man at the outset. There can be no power or quality 
of life in the full-g-rown tree that did not exist poten- 
tially in the seed-germ from which it sprang*; neither 
can there be a power or attribute in the mature man 
that did not exist potentially- in his life as an infant. 
Hence whatever power or attribute has been brought 
forth to organic expression in any one man, is neces- 
sarily latent and potential in the life of all men. Being 
latent in all, these powers may, under proper condi- 
tions, be evolved and brought to organic expression in 
all. This was the ideal and promise of the Christ 
message, and the spiritual birth and regeneration 
opened to us in his teaching were the law and means 
of this higher evolution. 

Evolution of the Human Soul.— Individual exist- 
ence, so far as we know, begins in embryonic condi- 
tions. The portion of Spirit which animates man, and 
from which all his powers and his consciousness are 
born, existed from eternity in God. It is the differentia- 
tion or specialization of the Spirit and life of God, hi the 
faculties and powers of the soul under material condi- 
tions and organic limitations, which constitutes tlie 
progressive personalitj^ of man, capable of indi^fuiite 
degrees of unfolding and development from within. 
The energy of life thus flowing forth from the exhaust- 
less fountain of Spirit into embodied expression, molds 
th(M)rganism it takes on into an instrument suitable 
foi' such (expression. Tlie outward body is niacU* uni- 
versally to correspond in gi^neral cliaractei' with the 



232 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

stag-e of evolution which the hfe and powers of the in- 
dividual soul haA^e reached. The spirit in man being 
so much of God the Father specialized in him, holds 
in his inmost life the engermed attributes of God, 
which in the true, normal development of his being, 
must ultimatel}^ come to expression in his life. 

The Twofold Organism of Man. — The dual organ- 
ism — physical and spiritual — in which the individual 
faculties and the personal consciousness are established 
and unfolded, is individualized and completed in or- 
ganic conditions before physical birth and the begin- 
ning of self-conscious, personal life. ^^A body thou 
hast prex^ared for me.^^ This dual organism is begot- 
ten, gestated and born into individual existence under 
strictly human parentage and conditions, with the 
bias of human heredity stamped upon it. The animat- 
ing spirit, however, the inmost life, is a divine seed-germ 
of infinite possibilities deposited from the XDure life of 
God, and potential with the essence of His Being. The 
spirit in every child born into the world is an immac- 
ulate conception — the immediate offspring of God. 

The Twofold Heredity of Man. — Man, we repeat, 
has a twofold heredity, one human, the other Divine. 
His human heredity is external, transient and subject 
to change; his heredity- from God is spiritual, change- 
less in character, divine and imperishable. The natu- 
ral man is the man of the flesh, external and sensuous 
in his life and consciousness ; the spiritual man when 
evolved is divine, dwelling on the interior and higher 
plane of the spiritual life and consciousness. And so 
it is written, ''The first man Adam was made a living 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION ? 233 

soul; the last Adam was made a quickening" spirit. 
Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that 
Aviiich is natural [pertaining- to outward Nature]; and 
afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of 
the earth, earth}^: the second man is the Lord from 
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are 
earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also that 
are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of 
the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heav- 
enly. . . . For this corruptible must put on incorrup- 
tion and this mortal must put on immortality/'' The 
great Apostle having actualized in his own experience 
a high degree of the spiritual life, in view of the cer- 
tainty of its possibility to all exclaimed in the lofty 
enthusiasm born of his experience, and the conviction 
of this certainty, '' I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that belie veth.^^ 

The Natural Man Prefigures the Spiritual.— We 
see the powers of the human soul beginning to mani- 
fest themselves in the dim and feeble consciousness of 
infanc}^ and watch their marvellous development 
through the unfolding stages of childhood, youtli and 
adolescence to a full rounded and mature manhood. 
We l<now, therefore, that the marvellous powers of a 
fully developed manhood were potential or latent in 
the organism of the new-born infant, though no one 
could have predicated such stupendous results on so 
slender a promises We know further, that all these 
wonderful possibilities of manhood were latent in the 
unconscious stnges of his embiyonic life. 



234 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

Now if all these powers of the soul are brought to 
such a marvellous development in the life of the '' nat- 
ural man ^' on the plane and within the sphere of the 
physical senses, what shall we say of those higher pos- 
sibilities of the divine nature yet latent, when the soul 
shall awaken to the realization of its spiritual being 
and divine heredity, and the spiritual man enters upon 
his career of development under the immediate inspira- 
tion and guidance of the Father ? We shall have a 
spiritual and divine manhood with the unfolded at- 
tributes of wisdom, goodness and power, as far above 
the level of man at his best, on the plane of the sensu- 
ous life and understanding, as he is above the level of 
the brute life that preceded him. In short, we shall 
have the reproduction of the Christ-life, as promised 
by himself and all millennial prophecy, in universal ex- 
perience. 

Jesus a Thorough Evolutionist. — The broadest con- 
ception and generalization of modern science concern- 
ing creation, or the bringing forth of life upon our 
planet, is expressed in the comprehensive term evolu- 
tion, supposed to embrace all the processes involved in 
the inception and developm^ent of life. If we interpret 
this law of evolution as God's method in creation, we 
have essentially the philosophy of Nature to which 
Christ's doctrine of the divine sonship and infinite pos- 
sibilities of man is the key; and which will sooner or 
later come to be recognized as such. 

That Jesus clearly recognized evolution as the law 
of life and its development in Nature and man, is evi- 
dent from his constant allusion to the processes of li.e 




WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 285 

in Nature as the immediate manifestation or worl^ of 
the immanent God, and tlie lessons he drew therefrom 
for his disciples to awaken and establish their faith 
and trust in His immediate and perfect providence. 
This conception is especially brought out in his efforts 
to unfold to their understanding- the laws and condi- 
tions of spiritual realization, which indeed were based 
upon and embraced the principle of evolution. Take 
his parable designed to illustrate the bringing forth of 
the kingdom of God in the personal and social life of 
man on earth. ^' And he said, So is the kingdom of 
God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 
and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed 
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For 
the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, 
then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But 
when the fruit is brought forth, immediately^ he put- 
teth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.'^ Here 
is a clear picture of the evolution of life from the seed- 
germ to its ultimate development, applied in illustra- 
tion of his great doctrine of the ultimate realization of 
the kingdom of God in the earth. 

In this illustration he recognizes the animating 
principle of life in Nature, culminating in man as the 
seed-germ of spiritual being which God the great Hus- 
bandman deposited in the world of materiality, to bring- 
forth childrcm imto Himself, man being the ultimate 
product of that life. And tlie earth brought fortli the 
fruit thereof, ^^ fu^st the blade, then the ear, aftei* that 
i]\c full corn in tin* eai'." *'Th(^ bladi^'' in l\w parablt^ 
symbolizes the organic world befoi'c maji; the prin.ary 



236 



THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 



"ear/' is the symbol of the "natural man'' on the 
plane of the sensuous life and understanding-; while 
" the full corn in the ear" most fitly and beautifully 
symbolizes the true spiritual manhood, or the com- 
plete spiritual life yet to be realized in the flesh. When 
this fruit of the Spirit on the tree of planetary life is 
all broug-ht forth and perfected, the sickle will be put 
in; for the harvest will have come, and the earth will 
have finished its work in the production and perfection 
of humanity. 

The Philosophy Inyolved. — While the Christ did 
not pose as a philosopher, still the comprehensive 
philosophy involved in his teaching" is the real philoso- 
phy of life and will yet be universally recognized as 
such. We have in his teaching, First: the conception 
of life in Nature as the immediate expression of the 
immanent God. Second : the doctrine of man as the 
immediate offspring of God, because the direct product 
of the life of God in Nature, and to become perfect in 
the realization of being and character even as his 
Father in heaven is perfect; because, again, as the 
child of God, he must in the normal unfolding of his 
life bring forth or reproduce the nature and attributes 
of the Father in the functions of his being. Third: 
we have this parable, illustrating directly, the law of 
evolution as the law under and through wiiich this 
higher realization is to be reached ; and Fourth : his 
specific application of the principle involved in the two 
phases or cycles of human evolution, one culminating 
and terminating in the sensuous life of the natural 
man, the other taking him into another and higher 



4 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 237 

cycle of evolution — regeneration — culminating* in the 
perfect life of the spiritual man in the bocly^ ''the full 
corn in the ear." 

In this conception the life of the soul is rooted in and 
flows direct from God, making each individual the 
child of God^ and the embodiment, in embryo, of His 
indestructible life and attributes, and as such, the de- 
pository and seed-germ of infinite possibilities in a ca- 
reer of endless life and development. If man is thus 
born to a career of unending life and progress, it will 
be readily conceded that the germ of such a stupendous 
possibility must have been deposited from a source 
vastly deeper than human parentage. All that is 
permanent and eternal, capable of infinite unfolding 
and development, must have its origin and fountain 
in the infinite and divine. ^' Call no man father on 
earth; for one is 3^ our Father which is in heaven;'" 
'' and all ye are brethren."" 

A Key to the Problem of Life and Destiny.— The 
Christ was a seer in whose open vision the problem of 
human life and destiny had no unsolved mystery. The 
very existence of the embodied soul with its boundless 
possibilities as the child of the infinite Love and Wis- 
dom, was to his mind its own reason for being, and the 
all-sufficient reason for the universe itself. The Uni- 
verse was made for man who was brought forth 
through it as a child of the Eternal, to unfold and 
dwell forever in communion and fellowship with the 
Father, and find a sufficient and appropiiate field for 
the development, exercise and enjoyment of all tlie 



288 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

powers of his being*. Man himself is the ke3^ to the 
solution of the problem of being". 

In these conceptions of the Master we catch a 
g-limpse of the limitless sweep of his thoug-ht of man's 
nature and destiny; and also of the tremendous and 
comprehensive grasp of the philosophy involved in his 
conception of life and being*. 

If this fundamental conception of the Master con- 
cerning- the divine sonship of man^ and the unfolding* 
attributes of his being* from within by a process of 
evolution is kept in mind, there will be less difRcult3^ 
in apprehending wha-t is really involved in the process 
of spiritual birth and regeneration, throug*h which man 
is to rise from the plane of the natural and sensuous 
life to the realization of the spiritual and divine. 

*^A Change of Heart/' — As the personality and or- 
g*anism of the ^^ natural man ^^ are molded after the 
pattern and under the inspirations and motives of the 
sensuous life, whose ruling* law is self, so the person- 
ality and org*anism of the spiritual man must be 
molded after the divine ideal of a perfect mxan, and 
under the inspirations and motives of the spiritual life 
at one with the divine, whose lav/ of life is Love — love 
to God and love to man, based on the realization of 
divine sonship and brotherhood. The reg*eneration of 
man, or the evolution of the spiritual within him, can 
be effected and carried forward under no other condi- 
tions. Man must of his own free will and choice, adopt 
the Christ ideal of the spiritual and perfect life of a 
child of God, and place himself under its perfect law 
in unreserved consecration to its attainment, seeking* 



WHAT IS IKSPIKATION? 239 

in confidence the inspiration, guidance and help of tlie 
Divine Spirit to which he tlius inevitably opens him- 
self. This positive and radical beginning- must be 
made in the full determination to lay down at once 
and forever the old man, that the life of the new man 
may be taken up and fully realized. 

Man cannot be governed hy or act under two op- 
posing motives at once. He cannot live the life of the 
natural and of the spiritual man at the same time. 
Thousands have failed in attempting this, not giving 
a full and entire consecration to the leading and in- 
spiration of the Spirit. In most Christian effort there 
has not been an unreserved abandon to the ideal and 
law of the spiritual and perfect life. Unfortunately the 
ideal of the higher spiritual life and the standards of 
its possibilities have been measured and judged from 
the standards which have come from actual experience 
under the necessary limitations of the sensuous life, 
instead of taking the victorious example of the Christ 
as the true Model and representative of that life. The 
universal law of configuration and transfiguration of 
organism, corresponding with the dominant states or 
unfolding developments of the inward life, to which we 
have called special attention, has been entirely over- 
looked in this connection. Hence the ideal of the per- 
fect life in both soid and body, presented by the Master 
as the goal of attainment through regeneration, has 
not been fully embraced in the popular conception of 
regeneration and the spiintual life. Men do noti rise 
above th(^ level of tlu^ir own ideals, nor s(H'k tlu^ attain- 
ment of that in which thev ha\(^ no faith. "According 



240 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

to your faith be it done unto 3^ou/^ is the law of attain- 
ment and reaUzatioti. 

The first great difficulty in the way of entering seri- 
ously and radicallj^ upon the path of the new life, the 
pathway of the Spirit, is perhaps the awakening and 
establishing in the mind the true and perfect ideal of 
attainment, and then the requisite faith in the ideal, 
without which it is impossible to commit the soul in 
perfect consecration and abandonment to its realiza- 
tion. This difficulty confronted the Master at every 
step of his teaching. The supreme difficult^^, however, 
is in laying down self, ^'Except a man den^^ himself 
and take up his cross daily and follow me he cannot 
be my disciple/^ The laying down of self, seeking Di- 
vine guidance and following the leading of the Spirit, 
is an absolute necessity and the first step. The mo- 
tives and inspirations of the selfish, or of the spiritual 
life, one or the other must rule; and these have vastly 
different centres or springs of action. Out of the 
heart are the issues, or motives and inspirations of 
life, and the heart will be centred upon the treasures 
or objects of one life or the other, hence one must be 
yielded ivholly to the other. ''^ Ye cannot serve God 
and mammon.^^ No compromise between the two is 
possible. '^ No man can serve two masters.^^ Before 
one can live the spiritual life, the realization of God 
and the things of the Spirit must become the supreme 
desire of the heart, for the heart will be where its 
treasure — the things most desired, are, and where the 
heart is there is the centre and spring of all motive 
and action. Hence there must be an entire change of 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 241 

basis in both motive and conduct. The centre of mo- 
tive and action must be transferred from the ideals 
and ambitions of the sensuous and selfish life^ to the 
ideal and ambition of the spiritual life; and this can be 
effected onl3^ by transferring- the desires of the heart 
from one to the other. 

So in the fullest and most literal sense^ there must 
be an entire and radical change of heart before any 
soul can rise from the natural into the realization of 
the spiritual life. There must be not only the shutting 
of the e3^es or sleeping to the things of flesh and sense, 
and awakening to the perception or recognition of 
''Hhe things of the Spirit of God/' but there must be 
dying to the things of the selfish life, and living* to the 
things of the spiritual. This radical change of heart 
is the ^'new birth/' the beginning of the new and spir- 
itual life. Henceforth communion and fellowship with 
the Father in all experiences and under all circum- 
stances is the supreme desire of the heart and the deep 
jo3^ of the life. Under this ideal and motive the work 
of regeneration goes forward. The essence of the sen- 
suous life is self-seeking, and its ruling law self-will. 
The essence of the spiritual life is unity with the Father 
in the ministry of service, and its ruling- lav/ the will 
and purpose of the Father in all things. 

Walkiiiii;^ With God in the World.— Entering^ into 
tlie realization of the spiritual life in the flesh does not 
takt*. man out from the active life of the world, nor 
n(HM^ss:irily chang(» his outward cii-cnuistancc^s, occupa- 
tion o»- relations with the worUl. He simply changes 
Jiis al,tit,u(U' toward IImmu in these relations and condi- 



242 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tions. He sees and walks with God in them, fulfilhng' 
his duty toward them, but is not brought into subjec- 
tion by them. He is in the world yet not of the world, 
on the earth yet above the earth in the spiritual su- 
premacy^ of his being" as a child of the Eternal. The 
things of the world and their allurements to the natural 
man lose their power over him, because he seeks no 
longer the treasures they hold. He is no longer their 
servant but their master. Having attained the mas- 
tery of himself he is the master of his environments. 
Being at one with the Father in all things, he holds 
the sapremacj^ over them by his unity with the Father 
in them. The unity of his own life with God brings 
reconciliation with the will of God in all things and all 
experiences, and this brings good out of all. "All 
things work together for good to them that love God.^^ 
Unity with the Father in will and purpose brings 
unitj^ with Him in truth and righteousness, because it 
opens the soul to the illumination and guidance of His 
wisdom, and the inspiration of His love. 

This is the law and essence of all spiritual experi- 
ence and permanent realization. To enter into this 
unit}^ of will and purpose with the Father, there must 
be a deepl3^ rooted conviction of and unshaken faith in 
the absolute wisdom and goodness of God, and there- 
fore of His work and will, and a supreme desire to be 
in accord therewith. The hearths desire for the in- 
spiration of the Father's love, guidance and wisdom, 
that His will and purpose may be fulfilled in us, when 
it becomes the permanent aspiration and pra^^er of 
the dail^^ life, is the one thing which unites the soul 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 243 

with God in the reciprocal and unyielding embrace of 
Parental and filial love. 

There is one other serious impediment in the way of 
a perfect understanding of the Christ doctrine of sal- 
vation which perhaps should be noticed in this connec- 
tion^ because while it remains the true Christ ideal 
will not be grasped, and the perfect effort will not be 
made. We refer to the false impressions which have 
been fastened upon the religious thought and con- 
sciousness of the Christian world by centuries of mis- 
interpretations of Scripture based upon a false an- 
thropology, or a fatal misconception of the nature of 
man and his relations. In nothing, perhaps, has this 
been more conspicuous or misleading, than in the un- 
derstanding, or rather misunderstanding, of the s^nn- 
bolic story of the creation and fall of man, since this 
lies at the foundation of the popular theologA^ of Chris- 
tendom, and without which the doctrine of vicarious 
atonement could not have been invented. A brief 
consideration of this mj^stic parable, and of the under- 
standing of man involved, may serve to suggest the 
true key to the interpretation of all Scripture. This 
key is the correct understanding of the nature of man 
to which they refer. Men first read their preconcep- 
tions into the Scriptures, then succeed in reading them 
from the Scriptures. If these preconceptions are cor- 
rect they serve as true principle's of interpretation, 
because truth is homogeneous; but if false, they lead 
men to wrc^st the Sci'iptures to tluMr own destruction. 

The Story of Eden i\m\ Ihe Fall.— How any intelli- 
gent mind, with the faint-est kiiowUnlge of the symbolic 



24A: THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

character of all oriental inspired writing- and teaching*^ 
could possibly have taken the symbolic story of Eden 
as veiitable^ external histoiy, and thus made its literal 
and sensuous rendering' the basis of a system cf the- 
ology and religious philosophy, passes comprehension. 
It would seem that the very figure of temptation by 
the serpent would have been sufficient to show the 
least spiritually minded the symbolic character of the 
entire narrative. That it was an inspired parable 
reiDresenting the profoundest truths of human experi- 
ence there need be no question. It represented^ there- 
fore^ inward spiritual experiences and moral states not 
external history^ and must be so read and interpreted 
to be correctl}^ understood. 

The g'arden of Eden symbolizes in the parable the 
garden of the human soul in the innocence of child- 
hood, Eden sig-nifying' innocence. It typifies the be- 
g'inning' of everj" human life, and thus we find the 
traged}' of the temptation and fall reproduced or actu- 
alized in universal experience. "And the Lord God 
planted a g-arden eastward in Eden." From the east 
or eastward springs the dawning- light of each new 
day; so ^^ eastward in Eden^' symbolizes the dawning- 
light of consciousness in the morning of each new life, 
in the innocence of childhood. ''And the Lord God 
took the man, and put 'him into the garden of Eden, to 
dress it, and to keep it.^^ By '*' the man *' is here repre- 
sented the awakened consciousness of personality- and 
moral responsibility, as these constitute the distin- 
g-uishing- features of humanity. '*To dress it^^ — the 
garden — was to cultivate and bring to fruition the co- 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 246 

ordinated powers of the soul in the development and 
clothing- upon of a perfect character. "And to keep 
it ^^ was to keep and maintain the innocence and purity 
of the sours original and i3rimary estate. "And the 
Lord God commanded the man ^^ [made a law of his 
being];, " sa^dng", Of every tree of the g-arden thou may- 
est freely eat.^' As the garden symbolized the soul, 
the trees of the garden symbolize the faculties of the 
soul, every one of which was for use and to be freely 
exercised and enjoyed. " But of the tree of the knowl- 
edge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in 
the d^j that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely 
die/^ Mark, it was not every tree of the garden but one 
thou may est freely eat, but " every tree of the garden.^' 
The eating of every tree, or the right use of ever^^ 
faculty, would bring- the knowledg-e through experi- 
ence onl3^ of good; while the wrong use of any faculty 
would bring the experience and thus the knowledg-e of 
evil. Hence the misuse of any faculty would be par- 
taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 
bringing, of necessity, death to the state of innocence, 
and thus casting the soul out of Eden. 

"Now the serpent was more subtile than ^ny beast 
of the field which the Lord God had made." The ser- 
pent plainly enough symbolizes the animal nature in 
man, which, being linked and associated with the 
higher powers of humanity, takes on a subtlety of 
desire and invention, impossible to the beast. The 
woman in the parable symbolizes the heart or scat of 
desire and motive; wliile the man symbolizes the in- 
tellect or jiidg-ment. By the voice of the Lord God 



246 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

walking' in the g-arden and speaking- to the pair^ first 
in their innocence warning them ag-ainst transg-ression, 
and afterward in their guilt pronouncing- judg-ment on 
their sin, is sjaiibolized the monitions of the Spirit 
throug"h the conscience, approving- of the rig-ht and 
accusing- of wrong-. The great law of g-ood and evil, 
temptation and sin involved in the experiences symbol- 
ized in the parable of Eden, will be made clear by a 
careful study of 

The Function of the Animal in Man.— The law of 
animal life is self-indulg-ence, and its org-anism is con- 
structed with direct reference to the unrestrained 
activity of all the impulses, appetites and propensities 
of the animal nature, fear being- the only restraining- 
influence. The human body on the contrary is con- 
structed with reference to the higher activities of the 
rational and moral powers under spiritual g-uidance, as 
the physical instrument of the soul in these activities, 
and not for the g-ratification of animal desire as such; it 
cannot, therefore, be given over to unrestrained indul- 
g-ence of animal propensity and impulse without injury. 
The law of the human life is rig-ht and dut^^, not plea- 
sure as an end. Man is under a moral g-overnment and 
accountable to a moral law; hence his sense of rig'ht 
and wrong-, g-ood and evil, and of personal oblig-ation 
or duty. As an intellectual and moral being- under a 
Divine Government, the true ideal of the personal life 
is intellectual and spiritual achievement, the develop- 
ment of truth and virtue, the attainment of wisdom 
and the perfection of character. When man comes to 
esteem and love truth and duty above pleasure, hei 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 247 

will find his true and lasting- enjo^anent in the per- 
formance of duty. 

The ideal life in the animal^ if it could be formulated 
to his consciousness, would be pleasure per sej and 
his hig-hest ideal of enjoyment would be the full g-rati- 
fication of desire in ph3'sical indulgence. In so far as 
tliis ideal and motive dominate the life of man, he is 
living- under the law of the animal life and not the 
true life of humanit^^ The org-anism of the animal 
being- in harmony with this law, such indulg-ence is 
compatible with health. As he has no hig-her nature 
demanding- the conservation of energy on the lower 
plane for expenditure on the higher, as in the human, he 
has no moral sense or conscience to protest ag-ainst 
this indulg-ence. Blind indulg-ence is his true and nor- 
mal life. He is not subject to the moral law, and 
therefore has no protest. The house is not divided 
ag-ainst itself. 

Law of Animal Activity in Man. — The human body 
being- the instrument of the soul's activities on the 
hig-her plane of the intellectual, social and moral life, 
there is a necessity for the conservation of energ*y in 
the animal activities — appetites and propensities — for 
expenditure in the leg-itimate and higher activities of 
the intellectual, industrial and social life. Hence the 
necessity to the life of man of a moral law and the re- 
straining- voice of conscience in the ineradicable sense 
of rig-ht and wrong; also of the guiding- power of spir- 
itual inspiration and wisdom. These are necessary to 
co-ordinate the functions of his complex being-, and 
hold each to its leg-itimate sphere of activity, and thus 



248 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

carry him forward to the complete fulfihnent of his 
g-rand and exalted destiny as a child of the Eternal 
Wisdom and Goodness. Experience has demonstrated 
that man cannot yield himself to the unrestrained in- 
dulgence of animal desire in the appetites and pro- 
pensities without intellectual and moral debasement, 
social degradation and ph^^sical degeneration, involv- 
ing disease and premature death. This is never true 
of animals but alwa3^s of man. This fact is sufficient 
demonstration that the human organism was not de- 
signed as an instrument of mere animal indulgence 
and enjoyment, and that the animal functions were 
designed to serve, not to rule in the human econom^^ 

Necessary to Nutrition and Reproduction.— The 
animal nature and functions in the life of man, are, we 
repeat, a necessitj^ to the preservation of the ph^^sical 
body as an instrument of the soul during its earthly 
experience^ and also to the perpetuation of the species. 
Without the animal nature in the human economy, 
the important functions of nutrition and reproduction 
would be utterlj^ neglected and forgotten in the ab- 
sorbing interest of the soul in other activities. The 
physical organism is so constructed that all its activi- 
ties, including brain function from mental action, in- 
volve the consumption or waste of tissue. This in turn 
causes a demand for constant renewal for which the 
function of nutrition was established. This being a 
physical and animal function was brought to perfec- 
tion in the animal kingdom before man appeared. 
Being essential to the existence and preservation of 
the physical body, the animal nature was reproduced 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 249 

in man for this purpose, or for the service of man in 
this capacity. Hence the periodic demand for food to 
renew the waste of the body furnishes vent to the 
spontaneous play of animal desire, which, knowing" no 
law but indulgence for ph^^sical enjoyment, would 
make physical desire so vehement but for the restrain- 
ing* influence of the judg-ment and moral sense, that 
the human body would become a mere instrument of 
animal impulse and g'ratiflcation. This shows that 
while the animal impulses cannot be utterly ignored 
and suppressed v^ith impunity, they are nevertheless 
to be governed, controlled and guided by the higher 
judgment and spiritual intuitions. When the moral 
and spiritual intuitions are i^roperly cultivated the 
soul will be led to govern wisely, and hold the animal 
functions to their legitimate and perfect service in the 
physical economj^ But to the full extent to which the 
higher demands of the soul upon the body are sacri- 
ficed and compromised to the ends of animal indul- 
gence, will be the prostitution of the human life to 
base and ignoble activities, the excess and perversion 
of the physical functions and the demoralization of 
true manhood. 

Yet, as we have said, without the animal instinct or 
impulse for indulgence to emphasize the desire and 
earnestly press the demand for food, the actual neces- 
sities of the physical organism would be unheeded, be- 
cause of the complete absorption of the attention in 
higher things. This would soon end in the Avearing 
out and destruction of the instrument itself, cutting 
the soul off from its immediate connection with the 



250 THE PATH^yAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

outward world, and the normal and needful experience 
this was designed to give. The same is true of the 
function of reproduction; were the animal impulses 
entirely rooted out of man, the physical relation of the 
sexes would be ignored and forgotten, and the per- 
petuation of the species would end. 

Relation of the Spiritual to the Animal in Man.— 
From what has been said, it will be seen that the ani- 
mal in man could not be wholly dispensed with in 
this life, without the destruction of his legitimate or- 
ganic relations with the outward and physical world. 
The animal nature is an absolute necessity to the 
preservation, development and perfection of the phj^si- 
cal body as an instrument of the soul in these outward 
relations and activities, as well as for the perpetua- 
tion, physical development and perfection of the hu- 
man race. And again, the normal development and 
perfection of the ph3"sical organism is an equal neces- 
sity to the corresponding perfection of the inward and 
permanent spiritual bod^^, of which the physical is 
practically the organic mold. The animal functions 
and activities in their legitimate sphere are thus as 
essential to the development and well-being of man in 
this world as are the inspirations of the spiritual and 
divine in their sphere; hence ever^^ attempt to root 
them out is abnormal and suicidal. While divine in- 
spiration and guidance are a necessit^^ to the integrity 
and development of the souVs life and powers, the ani- 
mal functions are an equal necessity to the health and 
development of the body as an instrument of the soul. 
The interest of both the animal and sjDiritual in their 



WHAT IS INSriKATION? 251 

true relation are one in the soul, since the functions of 
both are a necessit^^ to the integral development of 
the soul and its powers. 

Which then should exert the dominant and control- 
ling* influence ? To ask the question is to answer it. 
There is no room for doubt in the matter. For the 
animal activities to subserve their true function, they 
must be limited and held to their legitimate sphere of 
service in the human econom3^ Nothing* but the full 
realization of spiritual inspiration and g*uidance in and 
through an illuminated moral sense and judg*ment will 
effect this result. This is needed also to guide the soul 
in the unfolding of its powers in the field of physical as 
well as of intellectual and spiritual achievement, and 
thus to lead man in the path of wisdom and the wa^^ 
of truth and righteousness, as illustrated in the life of 
the Master. Without divine inspiration and guidance, 
the soul is liable to fall into bondage to the animal, 
and become the slave of lust and depraved desires. 
From this nothing can rescue man but tlie re-awaken- 
ing of the sense of his relationship and obligation to 
the Divine as a moral and spiritual being, and seeking 
divine help and healing in the forgiving love of the 
Father, and the regenerating and saving powei* of 
His Spirit. Since, then, the moral nature relates man 
to the moral law and order of a Divine Government, 
and the full development and activity of that nature 
is essential to a normal and well-balanced life, entire 
submission to and immediate inspiration from tlu^ 
Father's Spirit is the supreme and absolute n(HX^ssity 
of his being. 



252 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

The Real Source of Evil and Sin.- All the evils of 
humanity^ its diseases^ vices, crimes and miseries, in 
other words^ human sin and its results^ spring", as can 
easilj^ be shown, from the excessive activities and per- 
verted functions of the animal in man. This is the 
only fountain of selfisimess, and out of it springs the 
law which dominates and rules the natural man^ and 
w^hich has thus far largely ruled the life of the race. 
The unfolding and supremac^^ of the spiritual life and 
its ruling law will reverse all this, and place man in 
his true relations with both the natural world and the 
kingdom of God. While the animal functions are 
needed to call the attention of man to his physical 
necessities and spur him to the needed activity in sup- 
plying them, both the pln^sical desires and the activity 
they prompt should be under the perfect control and 
direction of a divinely enlightened judgment and moral 
sense. It is for want of this direction and control that 
men have XDlunged into excesses on the one hand, and 
into illegitimate and dishonest methods of obtaining 
the means of abnormal gratification on the other. 

The true and normal life of man, therefore, can be 
realized onl^^ through the development and supremacy 
of the spiritual nature. This will not only save him 
from all sin and the power of temptation, but wnll 
bring the outward world also into co-ordinated har- 
mony with his being. The perfect control of the ani- 
mal and tho physical in his own organism will give 
man the control of the conditions of life in both the 
animal and vegetable kingdoms, the perfect command 
of the animals, and also of his own immediate physical 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 253 

environments. The controlling- of storms^ and the 
prevention of great aerial disturbances, etc., will result 
from the full realization of his spiritual power. To 
many this statement will seem like the wild and ex- 
travagant dream of a disordered mentality, instead of 
the sober prophecy of a coming* realit3^ Nevertheless 
we do not hesitate to affirm this to be among the nor- 
mal attainments of the higher life for men on earth, 
promised in the gospel or Theosophy of the Christ. 

The Basis of the Claim. — We read that the Master 
quelled the storm on Galilee by the supremacy of his 
spiritual being and the legitimate exercise of the 
power it conferred, and also so overruled the power of 
gravity in his own bod}^ as to walk upon the surface 
of the sea. Is this an unfounded legend or a fact of 
history? We accept it as a veritable fact, and as 
such, t^^pical of the normal and legitimate power of 
humanity risen to the level of the Christ-life. Human- 
ity is the head and brain, so to speak, of the organic 
world. When, then, the full life and power of the 
Spirit has become incarnate in that head, its reactive 
influence upon the world with which it is thus vitally 
related, will bring the conditions of that world into 
co-ordinated harmon3^ Avith itself. If the Master single- 
handed in his supreme faith could perform the works 
he did, the combined faith and effort of an^^ community 
of his true follow^ers even before they have reached the 
level and supremacy of his perfect life, could readily 
break the power of a storm, drougiit, pestilence or any 
threatened calamity. And tliis act of united prayer 
and faitli, intelligently performed through an under- 



254 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

standing- of the law^ would be neither superstition nor 
fanaticism^ but a normal and worthy act of filial 
obedience and trusting- faith in the immanent God 
and Father of men^ and in His inspired teachers and 
prophets. ^^ Verily^ verily, I say unto you. He that 
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; 
and greater works than these shall he do, because I 
go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in 
m}^ name, that will I do, that the Father may be glori- 
fied in the Son. If je shall ask anything in my name 
I will do it.^^ This is a possibility that has been actu- 
ally verified by experience in many instances. The 
Apostolic history is filled with them, followed by many 
well authenticated instances in the succeeding- cen- 
turies down to our own times. Some striking exam- 
ples of recent date are related by President Mahan, of 
Oberlin College, as occurring under his ministry. 

It may be objected, that this would be a dangerous 
power in the hands of men whose shortsig-htedness 
might lead them to make a very unwise use of it. 
This objection is met by the fact that the condition 
under which the power is promised, is one of spiritual 
enlightenment and divine leading- in which man will 
be wisely directed in its exercise. The secret of spir- 
itual emancipation, attainment and power, the realiza- 
tion of life above the power of temptation and sin, and 
the mastery of the outward world it involves, is the 
complete subjection — not destruction — of the animal 
in man, and the perfect co-ordination of its functions 
with the nobler activities of the soul under spiritual 
inspiration and divine guidance. 



d 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 255 

Specific Application in Nutrition.— The function of 
nutrition was established in the human economy for 
the sole purpose of maintaining- the balance of physical 
waste and renewal^ and sustaining* the processes in- 
volved in the transformation of tissue in the mental 
and bodily activities. The animal enjoyment in eating 
and drinking- — the process of supply — is incidental and 
secondary^ and cannot be made the motive of indul- 
g-ence without leading to excess and perversion. We 
should eat and drink to subserve the purposes of life, 
not live to the end of eating and drinking. This law 
and the principle involved are simple enough to be 
practically understood by all. In a normal, unper- 
verted life the demands of the S3^stem for sustenance 
are comparatively light, and the food best adapted to 
meet the demand is plain and very simple. The more 
the intuitive and inspirational powers of the psycliic 
and spiritual nature are cultivated and exercised, the 
less the energy expended and the less the friction and 
waste of tissue in mental activity, and so the lighter 
the demand and need of plwsical renewal. TJiis has 
been demonstrated in the experience of tliousands. 
The demands upon the vital economy are reduced to 
their minimum, while the complete conservation of 
energy on tlu^ plane of tlie animal and vital functions 
adds inunensely to tlie accumuhition of active work- 
ing power on the plane of tlie mental and spiritual ac- 
tivities. 

On the other hand, th(^ more the true funct'Kui of 
nutrition is lost sight of in tlu* mei-e ph^asure of indul- 
gence, tlie more abnorjnal and pcM'verted the a[)p(*tite 



256 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

is sure to become, and the seeming necessity for its 
indulgence increased. Tins involves a waste of energ-3^ 
in protecting the system against derangement and 
disease, and in disposing of the unassimilated material 
injurious in itself, unnecessarily taken into the system. 
It diverts energy also from brain and mentality, crip- 
ples their activities and sensualizes the man. 

Is Flesh Eating a Necessity ?— It is a significant 
and suggestive fact that as the higher nature is culti- 
vated and spirituality unfolds, the grosser, heavier and 
especially the stimulating foods and drinks are aban- 
doned, and the higher products of the vegetable king- 
dom adopted as the staple articles of diet, with onh' 
such x^roducts of the animal kingdom as can be ob- 
tained without the taking of life. Thousands have 
come, through the awakening of their intuitions and 
spu'itiial nature, independent of any previous thought 
or theory m the matter, to abhor the eating of flesh, 
and shrink from the thought of taking life for the 
purpose of food, as from a species of murder and can- 
nibalism. It is the animal in man that calls for flesh 
and the grosser and sensualizing forms of food; hence 
as the animal becomes subordinated to the unfolding 
spiritual life, manifested in quickened intuition and 
spiritual inspiration, these are spontaneously aban- 
doned for the more attractive food products of the 
vegetable kingdom, that grow above the ground and 
mature and ripen in the sunlight. Great intellectual 
ability may exist with a strong animal nature which 
revels m the consumption of flesh and the grosser stim- 
ulating and sensualizing forms of food : but these foods 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 257 

are absolutely incompatible with spirituality, Witk 
the unfolding- of the spiritual life, the dominance of 
animal desire in the physical is overruled and the ani- 
mal activities sink into their legitimate sphere in the 
human economy, and the appetite becomes natural 
and simple, expressing only the normal demands of 
the system. It is the dominance of animal desire in 
the physical functions that clings to the grosser and 
stimulating food and drinks, the indulgence of which 
leads to over-feeding and the abnormal activities of 
all the animal propensities. In the lower, savage and 
animal stages of human development, animal food maj^- 
be deemed a necessity", though the animal nearest man 
in form and structure, as with other of the most pow- 
erful and long-lived animals, eats no flesh. It is cer- 
tain, however, that as the nobler attributes unfold, the 
grosser foods give place to a simpler dietary, and one 
in natural and spiritual accord with the more refined 
and elevated conditions of life. Is this not a sufficient 
hint for those who would rise out of animal conditions 
and attain the supremacy of spiritual life and power, 
to adopt the simple foods that do not pander to ani- 
mal desire; and with these also correspondingly simple 
habits of life? Many chronic invalids have been re- 
stored to health and vigor by this means alone; while 
the attainment and untrammeled exercise of the spir- 
itual gifts are impossible without it. 

The Specific Law Formulated.— The law of human 
life may be simply defined as the conservation of en- 
ergy in the animal activities for expenditure in the 

legitimate exercise of the liighcu- powers under divine 

17 



258 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

inspiration and guidance^ the animal impulses and de- 
sires to be controlled and wisely directed by a spiritu- 
ally^ enlightened judgment and moral sense. The 
human body being constructed with direct reference 
to these hig"her activities will, through observance of 
this law^ be found a perfect instrument in its adapta- 
tions to the legitimate work of life, and will not wear 
out nor fail in health and vigor during the years al- 
lotted to that work in the normal c^xle of the earthh^ 
career. "We do not believe that an^^ man beginning 
with an average stock of vital stamina, who has con- 
served his energies in the animal functions, ever wore 
out or prematurely failed in health and strength in 
any legitimate occupation. The elasticity and re- 
cuperative power of life and vitalitj^ under these con- 
ditions are practically unlimited. A man Avho endures 
years of gluttony, drunkenness and the attending dis- 
sipations before he breaks down, as some do, would 
endure many more years of active and profitable labor 
if at the same tune he observed the law here formu- 
lated. 

If we would live at one with God, and enjoy His fel- 
lowship and communion, and be guided by His wisdom, 
we must follow that guidance in using the powers he 
has given us strictly to the ends for whicli they were 
bestowed and ordained. It is utter mockery to repeat 
the Lord's prayer, '' Thy will be done on earth as it is 
in heaven,'^ while we live in daily violation of this 
righteous law of our behig — a law that the simplest 
can understand, and the weakest will receive power to 
observe if it be the sincere desire of his heart. '^ There 



M^llAT IS IXSPIILVTION? 259 

hath no temptation taken you but such as is common 
to man : but God is faithful who w ill not suffer you to 
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the 
temptation also make a wa^^ of escape/^ '' Be not de- 
ceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man 
soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth 
to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he 
that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life 
everlasting*. And let us not be wear^^ in well doing* : 
for in due time we shall reap if we faint not/^ The 
sowing' here spoken of by the Apostle refers to the 
motives and intents of the hearty the motives which 
prompt the activities of our being' and the use we 
make of our powers in those activities, whether we 
sow to our flesh or to the Spirit. What then is 

Sowing to the Spirit ? — What indeed can it be but 
desiring- and seeking* the realization of God in our 
being- as His children, throag'h the fulfilment of His 
love and purpose in our existence, and His will in all 
our activities? The Spirit and purpose of God find 
expression in the normal exercises of each and every 
function of our being-. When therefore we seek to 
know the real object of these functions and to exercise 
them only to that end, we are seeking- to know and to 
do the Father's will and be at one with Him in these 
activities. We are sowing- to the Spirit in them, and 
will reap the perfect and incorruptible life through 
them. On the other hand, to lose sig'ht of the end in 
the use of the means, and forg-et the purpose of a func- 
tion in the mere pleasure of indulg-ence, is to sow to 
the flesh; pervert the function and place ourselves iu 



260 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIKIT. 

antag"onisin to the will of the Father in it. This per- 
sisted in will bring- the certain result so g-raphically 
pictured in Apostolic lang-uage: "^^He that soweth to 
his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption/^ 

Object of the Earth Life. — The evident object of 
human existence in this world is threefold. First: 
the individualization of the soul and its permanent 
spiritual organism. Second: the primary develop- 
ment^ education and discipline of its innate powers^ 
first in their relation to the outward world in the 
school of the senses, then in their higher relation to 
the inward life and kingdom of God; and Third: the 
essential experience and discipline to be gained in ac- 
quiring the mastery of the sensuous life and the out- 
ward world through the development and supremacy 
of the spiritual nature, in unity with and under the 
inspiration and guidance of the Father. The necessity 
and promise of Divine teaching and guidance is the 
burden of both Hebrew and Christian Scripture, and 
cannot be too often referred to and emphasized in our 
thought, because it is, perhaps, the one privilege least 
recognized and resorted to by man, and the one neces- 
sity least realized by him. '' I will instruct thee and 
teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will 
g-uide thee with mine eye.^^ ^^But the Comforter, 
which is the Holy Spirit,"^ " even the Spirit of truth 
which proceedeth from the Father,'^ '' he shall teach 
you all things, and '^ '"^ will guide you into all truth,^' 
"bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I 
have said unto you '' " and he will show you things to 
come." 



WHAT IS IXSPIKATION? 261 

The ph^^sical body and its senses were provided, 
therefore, as the suitable organic instrument and 
means to this end, and are thus to be reg-arded and 
made the servant, never the master of the soul. Man is 
not a body with a soul to care for and save, but a liv- 
ing* soul and a spiritual being, with a bod^^ to use while 
acquiring his primar^^ earthly education and discipline 
in the integral development of his powers, and their 
adjustment to both the outer objective or phenomenal 
world, and the inner spiritual realm or kingdom of 
God. 

Key to the Parable. — In this analysis of the func- 
tion and relations of the animal nature in the human 
economj^, we have the key to ^he true doctrine of the 
temptation and fall of man symbolized in the parable 
of Eden. In it also we find the true basis of the Christ 
doctrine of the necessit^^ for the birth and evolution of 
the spiritual man through the regeneration of the 
natural man. The primary or natural man (child of 
Nature) represented in Adam, though born in inno- 
cence — Eden — is subject to temptation and liable to 
fall into sin. As a child of God he is endowed with a 
moral nature through which, if he listen, he will hear 
the silent but rev^ealing Word of the Spirit, and 
through its ^^6'h7Z, small voice,^Mieard only in the si- 
lence—stillness of sense — will receive divine guidance. 
The animal functions, uncontrolled by tlie moi-al nature 
under spiritual leading tend to excessive indulgence 
and perverted action. This wlien yielded to consti- 
tutes sin, and brings disaster into the life. 

The rational and moral powers arc subject to the 



262 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

law of growth and development throug-h healthful ex- 
ercise^ and require cultivation to this end. This health- 
ful exercise, as we have shown, is possible only through 
the dominance and leading of the spiritual; since with- 
out this the forces are all expended in sensuous activi- 
ties which divert attention and elTort from the legiti- 
mate work of life, blunt the moral sense, drown the 
voice of the Spirit and bring the soul into bondage to 
flesh and sense. This is the fallen state and a most 
assuredly depraved condition, from which nothing can 
rescue the soul but the re-enthronement of the spiritual 
nature in its rightful supremacy, through the return 
of the soul itself in repentance and faith to the imme- 
diate inspiration and redemptive power of the Father^s 
love. 

Not an Inherited State. — Man, however, is not born 
a fallen being. Every child is born in Eden, and hears 
the authoritative "^"^ voice of the Lord God^^ speaking 
in and through the moral sense, as surely as he hears 
the seductive voice of the tempter in the enticements 
of animal desire and physical sense. The rational and 
moral powers with the spiritual life in which they are 
rooted, and through which they have access to and 
inspiration from God, have their beginning as such 
with man, and, therefore, start at their minimum of 
expression and iDower. The animal hfe, on the other 
hand, which culminates in man, was brought to full 
development in the animal kingdom before the kingly 
nature of man in his infancy appeared. It is for this 
reason that the natural man begins his conscious ex- 
istence with a perfected animal life as his natural in- 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 263 

heritance; while his spiritual inheritance^ the spiritual 
life — in which the rational and moral powers are rooted, 
and from which they derive their divine ]30ssibility of 
an infinite development — is at its minimum of en- 
g-ermed activity, and needs another cycle of evolution 
to bring* it to complete embodiment in organized ex- 
pression. Nevertheless the animal nature when prop- 
erly restrained and directed is not perverted and will 
not pervert the life, but remains a needful and true 
servant of the soul. Hence its tendency, when uncon- 
trolled, to excessive indulgence and perverted activity, 
is not strong enough in the innocence of childhood 
before the unper verted instincts have been corrupted 
by depraved associations, to di*own the divine voice 
which, in the engenned spiritual life, is a sure spiritual 
instinct, and becomes in the unfolding of that life a di- 
vine and unerring intuition. 

For the spiritual nature to hold the supremacj^ and 
exert its rightful restraining and directive power over 
the animal activities, it must unfold with the develop- 
ment of the rational and moral powers through obedi- 
ence of the soul to its divine leading. "When this lead- 
ing is not strictly followed from childhood the soul 
comes more and more under the dominance of the ani- 
mal nature, and the bondage of sensuous impressions, 
until fully submerged in tlie sphere and activities of 
the sensuous and selfish life. This constitutes the 
state or condition typified by the wandei'ing sheep and 
the prodigal son in tliose striking parables of Jesus, 
and which theologians call tlu^ fallen state. Since t^iis 
has been and still remains so widespread and universal 



264 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

we have abundant illustration of the urgent necessity 
of immediate regeneration in the complete evolution 
of the spiritual life in all whose attention and interest 
can be awakened to it. 

May Begin With Childhood.— The Lord Christ took 
3^oung children in his arms and blessed them sa^ing*^ 
^'Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid 
them not; for of such is the kingdom of God/^ This 
was practically saying that the kingdom of God or the 
divine nature and life were implanted or engermed in 
the innocenc3^ of childhood, or, in the normal supremacy 
of the spiritual nature before its righteous law has 
been consciously violated in the life of the child. B3' 
retaining this innocency, and unfolding the soul's 
powers under the supremacy and ideal of the spiritual 
life, the spiritual man will be fully evolved and the 
kingdom of God brought forth and established in the 
earth life, as in heaven. This work can begin and be 
carried forward in adult life in no other waj^ '^ Verily 
I say unto you. Whosoever shall not receive the king- 
dom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.'^ 
We must return to the innocency of entire obedience 
to the law of the spiritual life before it can unfold and 
come to complete embodiment in us. The perfect 
evolution of the spiritual life involves and effects, as 
elsewhere shown, the regeneration or transformation 
of both the psychic being and physical organism. It 
should be remembered that there is the same necessity 
for the transformation and change of the physical or- 
ganism as an instrument for the expression of the 
higher powers of the spiritual man, that there is for 



265 

the evolution of the spiritual life and power in the 
psychic being". Reg-eneration effects this organic trans- 
formation. 

That children can be brought to Christ, that is, to 
' embrace the Christ ideal of the perfect life through 
obedience to the inward voice, we have the authority 
of the Christ. They may be brought to understand 
that they are spiritual being-s and children of God, and 
that the whispering's of duty are Divine monitions and 
of infinitely more importance to be heeded than all 
other desires can possibly be. If this is done before 
the child-life is led astray bj^ corrupting associations 
and the enticement of sense, and thus helped and kept 
in obedience to the law of truth and purit^^, the out- 
ward man and the inward life will unfold together, the 
outward man being moulded after the pattern of the 
inward life, its perfect correspondence and expression. 
The Christ nature would unfold normall}^ in such a 
life as it did in the child Jesus — the pattern of all nor- 
mal childhood and youth, as well as of a true spiritual 
manhood. There would be divine inspiration and lead- 
ing- from earliest life, though permanent illumination 
would not come until later as with the Christ hims(^lf. 
The development of certain organic conditions of brain 
and body are a necessity to this illumination, and this 
development will correspond with the prog'ressive 
steps involved in the evolution of the higher soul 
powers. While the successful beginning of the spiritual 
evolution is the possibility of all cliildhood, there is, we 
repeat, no certainty of its idealization until wi^ have :i 
reg-enerated parentage, and children are begotten and 



266 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

broug-ht forth under the perfected parental conditions 
of the spiritual life. From the plane of a reg-enerate 
humanity parents living- m the realization of their 
own divine inheritance will not only transmit a rich 
endowment of the spiritual nature^ but will have the 
inspiration and ability to impress upon their children 
from the dawn of intellig^ence a full sense of their im- 
mediate relation to God as His children, and of His 
g-uiding- voice and helping* power in their souls and in- 
ward life. 

Immediate and Permanent Results* — In the off- 
spring- of the spiritual man the higher nature^ under 
parental training*, will hold its rig*htful supremacy 
from infancy. The human heredity will have the ac- 
tive dominance of spirituality and upward tendency 
stamped upon it instead of animality and perverted 
tendency. From this will follow an entire reversal in 
the order of human life and society resulting* in the 
immediate and complete fulfilment of millennial proph- 
ecy. The natural man in the order of Adam will be 
replaced by the spiritual man in the order of Christ. 
The children of the spiritual man will not have to 
strugg*le ag*ainst such odds with temptation as con- 
front those of the sensuous man. Like the Christ 
child they will g*row and wax strong* in spirit, filled 
with wisdom (spiritual intuition) and the g*race of God 
wall be upon them. 

The child of the natural man begins with the maxi- 
mum of animal life and activity and the minimum of 
spiritual. The fully reg*enerated life will reverse 
this and g*ive the child of the spiritual man the maxi- 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 267 

mum of spiritual and moral power with the minimum 
of animal activity — the true co-orclinatecl life of the 
children of God. The principle of regeneration which 
is the leaven of the spiritual life, will be implanted as 
the active or dominant constructive principle in the 
very g-erm of the new being*. Such is the New Life 
and order which the Christ was raised up to establish, 
but which will never be realized until men become his 
true followers, and co-operate with him under the min- 
istry of heaven for its realization in their own experi- 
ence. ^'^As in Adam [the natural man] all die; even so 
in Christ [the spiritual man] shall all be made alive.'' 
The Fall and Redemption. — In the light of this 
stadj^ the true nature of the fall thus typified in Scrip- 
ture, and of the redemption opened to the world in and 
by the Christ, becomes unmistakabty apparent. Like 
the Adam and Eve of Scripture, all children are 
brought into the world innocent, having the spontane- 
ous instincts of the animal nature in the physical func- 
tions, and the equally spontaneous monitions of the 
spiritual nature — the voice of God — in tlie moral sense. 
If the promptings of this voice are obeyed, the rational 
and moral powers will unfold in the light and freedom 
of the spiritual life, under divine inspiration and guid- 
ance. If this normal unfolding of the spiritual life is 
not Interrupted it will go forward to complete and 
permanent embodiment, a divine incarnation — the re- 
production of the Christ life. If, however, the leadings 
and warnings of tlu^ spii'itual nature ai'e disregarded 
and ignored — in the heat of animal desire and tlu^ on- 
ticements of sensti — and the soul yields to indulgence 



268 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

against the i)rotest of the spirit, she partakes of the 
forbidden fruit, "the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil.'^ The laAv of God in the personal life — which 
is the right use of the functions and things of life — is 
violated, and the soul comes under condemnation of 
the moral law in the consciousness of guilt, and is thus 
driven out of the Eden of innocence. 

So long as the evolution of life has risen only to the 
level of the natural man, with the higher spiritual 
nature and hfe embodied only in germ, and expressed 
as a iDroiDhetic instinct or intuition in the midst of 
sensuous activity and experience, it was perhaps in- 
evitable that this man of the Adamic order should, 
under temptation, fall. The heavenly Father, how- 
ever, never forsakes nor forgets His children though 
they wander from and forget Him. He keeps an open 
door of return — through repentance and faith — to the 
spirit of loyalty and the privileges of divine fellowship 
and communion. The indestructible and incorruptible 
germ of His own nature in the spiritual life of His 
children, is never separated from the eternal spring of 
His life and the infinite fountain of His love; hence in 
the very condemnation of sin there is breathed also 
the whisiDcr of hope, and there springes up a prophetic 
instinct or intuition of a possible redemption. This 
possibility will ever be made a certainty by genuine 
repentance and faith. The redemptive and restoring 
power of Spirit is as absolute and certain in its work- 
ings, as is its creative and life-giving power. ^^The 
seed of the woman " shall indeed bruise the head of the 
tempter and trample under foot his power to harm. 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 269 

Under the universal experience of sinning- and re- 
penting-, falling and rising-, the spiritual nature has 
expanded and unfolded in the life of the race, in spite 
of the enticements of sense and the aberrations of sin. 
As a result of special conditions individuals have here 
and there been caught up in this rising impulse, and 
under the inspiration of the Spirit have become its 
seers and prophets, living centres of mighty influence 
for the further quickening of the spiritual life of the 
world. In this unfolding of the spiritual life of the 
race and its exceptional development in a few, it was 
natural that the rising line of seers and prophets thus 
spontaneously evolved as special workers for the 
man^^, should culminate in one complete incarnation 
of the divine and perfect life. Thus came the Christ 
taking into himself all power of prophec^^, seership and 
spiritual ministry, the God- Anointed Leader and Re- 
deemer of his race. The germ of the Divine nature 
and attributes deposited from the Father in the spir- 
itual life latent in His children, is a divine pledge of 
the ultimate evolution and realization of that nature 
and its attributes in experience. The final bringing 
forth of these latent possibilities to full fruition under 
providential leading and discipline, is the Divine i\ - 
demption of that pledge. This is the true nature of 
that redemption foreshadowed in Old Testament proph- 
ecy and opened in the New Testament as a promise of 
final and absolute fulfilment in and through tlu^ min- 
istry of the Christ. 

The Spiritual Baptism.— It is inflated of Paul that 
on visiting Ephesus in his missionary vvoi-k, **aiul liiid- 



270 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

ing" certain disciples^ he said unto them^ Have ye re- 
ceived the Holy Spirit since ye beUeved ? And they 
said unto him^ We have not so much as heard whether 
there be any Hol^^ SiDirit. . . . And when Paul had 
laid his hands upon them^ the Holy Spirit came on 
them; and they spake with tong-ues and prophesied. 
And they were in all about twelve men.^' We read 
also that between the resurrection and translation of 
the Master, being- with the disciples, ^''He charged 
them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for 
the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard 
from me: for John indeed baptized Avith water; but 
ye shall be baptized with the Hol^^ Spirit not many 
da^^s hence,'^ and "" Ye shall receive power when the 
Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my 
witnesses.^' These with man^^ other passages from the 
Apostolic histoiw refer to a peculiar, unique and dis- 
tinct exx3erience which was promised to all disciples in 
a certain stage of their spiritual development; and 
which, when experienced, was to endue them with 
" power from on higlV^ or clothe them with some spe- 
cial gift of the Spirit. This promise was literal 1}^ ful- 
filled in the experiences referred to. That it does not 
come in the first or earlier stages of the spiritual life 
— the unfolding of the spiritual man — is evident not 
only from Apostolic experience, as they were not pre- 
pared for it until after the translation of Jesus, but 
also from the experience of the Master himself, who 
did not receive it until about thirty 3^ears of age, 
though he had grown up from infancy under divine 
inspiration and in unbroken fidelity to the law of the 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 271 

spiritual life. His permanent illumination dated from 
that experience when '' the heavens were opened unto 
him ^' and " the Spirit descended and abode upon him/' 
For a specific classification and description of the 
'^ gifts of the Spirit/' or the various occult powers thus 
CO uf erred, see Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, 
twelfth chaj^ter, which is worthy of most careful study, 
as it is the positive testimony of one who spoke from 
personal observation and experience. It is enoug-h in 
this connection, to call attention to this remarkable 
experience as a special illumination of the Spirit, which 
lifts the mind to a plane of intuitive perception of truth 
at first hand, and a commanding' power of action abso- 
lutely above and beyond the reach of possible attain- 
ment by the most severe and perfect methods of intel- 
lectual culture and training. 

Nature of the Power Conferred.— The story of 
Pentecost and the transformed lives of the Apostles 
after that experience, as with the large numbers that 
had a like experience under their ministry, furnish il- 
lustrations of the nature of the power received and of 
the character of its manifestation in their transformed 
lives. Peter thus describes it as the fulfilment of the 
prophecy of Joel : '* And it shall come to pass in the 
last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon 
all flesh: and your sons and j^our daughters shall 
prophes3^, and 3^our young men shall see visions and 
your old men shall dream dreams: And on my serv- 
ants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those 
days of my Spii'it; and they shall prophesy.'' The 
complete fulfllment of this ancient prophecy includes 



272 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

^' all fiesli/^ and as promised, will bring* the illuminated 
life and some phase of special mastery to all, as illus- 
trated in its partial fulfilment in Apostolic experience;. 
Among- the ^' gifts ^^ or si3ecial powers bestowed were 
the immediate and practically instantaneous healing- 
of all manner of disease, sickness and insanit}^ b}^ word 
or touch; the intuitive command of other tongues or 
languages otherwise unknown or unlearned, '''the 
working of miracles/' etc. The perfect example, how- 
ever, of the practical omniscience or perfect intuition, 
wisdom and occult mastery conferred by full spiritual 
illumination, was exhibited in the Master. ^' The disci- 
ple is not above his Master, but Avhen he is perfected 
shall be as his Master.^' 

The Fact and Problem Inyolved.— Here was a 
young man born of humble parents in an obscure 
province, who, so far as we can determine from the 
meagre record, grew up with the scantiest resources 
of external help, the village Synagogue and the oral 
traditions of his ^oeople being the extent of his contact 
with the learning of his time. This peasant carpenter 
on coming to maturity, moved by an all-commanding 
impulse and inspiration, took his stand before the 
world as a prophet, teacher and reformer; his own 
immediate inspiration and illumination from the living 
God and Father of men being the authority he claimed 
for his message. '''He taught as one having authority 
and not as the scribes.*' Men everywhere '' were as-| 
tonished at his doctrine, for his word v>^as with power.^^j 

He entered upon this public ministry with a wisdom, ' 
an insight, a majesty of character and power of per- 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 273 

sonal influence unequalled bj^ any of the prophets and 
teachers preceding* him^ which confounded be^^ond 
measure all who had known his previous history. 
"And when he had come into his own country, he 
taug-ht them in their S^mag^og^ue, insomuch that they 
were astonished, and said. Whence hath this man this 
wisdom and these mighty works ? Is not this the car- 
penter's son ? is not his mother called Mary ? and his 
brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 
And his sisters, are they not all with us ? Whence 
then hath this man all these thing's ? ^^ It is evident, 
from these exclamations of his neig-hbors and acquaint- 
ances, that they had seen nothing- in his previous life 
which could account for or afford any satisfactory^ hint 
as to the source of his sudden endowment of this ex- 
ceptional wisdom and power. Only enoug-h of his 
early history is g-iven by his biog-raphers to show that 
he was an exceptionally devout and spiritually- 
minded child and youth, ever seeking* to know the 
deeper wisdom of the law and the prophets as held in 
the traditions of his people and read and taug-ht in the 
s^magog-ue. 

This characteristic became so marked that, at 
twelve 3^ears of ag-e, on being* taken to Jerusalem he 
astonished the Rabbis in the temple by his ques- 
tions, understanding- and answers, which certainl^^ in- 
dicated a natural g-enius of inspiration corresponding' 
with his devout aspiration. This is further confirmed 
by the only subsequent allusion to his career up to the 
time of his visit to Jordan and his baptism by John. 

On his return from Jerusalem with his parents, we 
18 



274 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

read, ^'^And he went down with them, and came to 
Nazareth, and was subject unto them. . . . And Jesas 
increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with 
God and man.'^ Still there was nothing developed in 
that intervening- history to sufficiently indicate or 
account to his neighbors for the exceptional character 
of the wisdom and power possessed by him from the 
time he entered upon his public ministry. Neverthe- 
less he appeared among them with a little band of dis- 
ciples, himself, perhaps, the ^^oungest of the group, 
though in wisdom and commanding greatness of per- 
sonality so much above the noblest as to seem another 
order of being, which, indeed, he practically^ was. 

Still the Question of the World.— From that day 
to this, among those who accept the story of his mar- 
vellous life as veritable histor^^, the same question has 
arisen that puzzled and confounded the people of his 
own countrj^ and time. Whence had this man this 
wisdom and these mighty works? Some answer by 
sajang, '' He was very God veiled in human form and 
flesh."' Others say, ^^ He was a re-incarnated Avatar 
or Planetary Spirit;'^ while others still, rejecting both 
these claims, recognize in him the supreme Man and 
Brother of men, and remain silent over the mystery 
of his exceptional life and works as something bej^ond 
present understanding, if taken as literal fact. Others 
again, accept the story of miracles as figurative only, 
representing the power of his exceptional inspiration 
and influence over the moral and spiritual lives of his 
followers. Nevertheless the story of his life, ^^ mira- 
cles^' included, was obviously given as actual external 



WHAT IS INSPIKATIO^T? 275 

histor3^ His immediate followers, however, who had 
the benefit of his most confidential teaching*, never 
dreamed of his being- either the '^ Incarnate God ^' or 
a pre-existing- being- of any kind. What they did 
think, and testified to, after his ascension, and speak- 
ing- under the inspiration of their own spiritual baptism 
at Pentecost, we have in the specific words of Peter, 
the foremost among- those who had followed him 
throug-h his earthly- ministry. 

This brave and heroic Apostle boldly testified on 
that occasion, with the full indorsement of the as- 
sembled disciples, and facing- those who had par- 
ticipated in securing- the crucifixion of their Lord, 
^''Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Naz- 
areth, a man approved of God among- you by miracles 
and wonders and sig-ns, which God did by him in the 
midst of you, as je yourselves know. . . . This Jesus 
hath God raised up [from the dead] whereof we are 
witnesses. . . . Therefore let all the house of Israel 
know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus 
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.^' And 
ag-ain on another occasion at the house of Cornelius, 
among- the Gentiles where he had been sent by a spe- 
cial providence he said, ^^ The word which God sent unto 
the children of Israel, preaching- peace by Jesus Christ : 
. . . That word, I say, ye know, which was published 
throug-hout all Judea, and beg-an from Galilee, after 
the baptism which John preached; How God anointed 
Jesus of Nazareth with the Hol}^ Spirit and witli 
power : who went about doing- g'ood and healing- all that 
were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him." 



276 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

We must take this testimony of Peter as reflect- 
ing the claim which he knew that the Master made 
for himself; since he was his chosen ordained and 
specially instructed Apostle and witness, testifying 
to that which he had seen and heard. If anything 
more is needed, we must remember that he spake also, 
as we have said, from the authority of that higher 
illumination which he had received subsequent to the 
Master's ascension in fulfilment of his parting promise. 
There is nothing in the fuller record of the four Evan- 
gelists but confirms this specific explanation by Peter 
of the nature and source of the exceptional wisdom and 
power of Jesus. " How^ God anointed Jesus of Naza- 
reth with the Holy Spirit and with power.'" ^'A man 
approved of God among you by miracles and wonders 
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of 3^ou.'' 

The Open Secret and Solution. — In these words of 
Peter and the special account of the permanent illu- 
mination of Jesus after his baptism, when '^ as he prayed 
the heavens were opened unto him, etc.,"' followed by 
his victory over temptation in the wilderness, we have, 
as alreadj^ intimated, the open secret and solution of 
his divine achievements and victorious life. From his 
illumination at Jordan and complete spiritual victor^^ 
in the wilderness, '^ He returned in the power of the 
Spirit into Galilee preaching the gospel of the king- 
dom of God,"" and entering upon the mighty Avork of 
his ministry as the Leader and Saviour of men. That 
he was to save men by leading them up to the same 
spiritual baptism, permanent illumination and victory 
over the power of temptation and sin, is evident from 



WHAT 1-S INSPIEATION? 277 

his words of instruction and promise to his immediate 
disciples^ and through them to all his faithful followers. 
The perfect demonstration of this, however, was in the 
practical fulfilment of that promise, not only in Apos- 
tolic experience, but in large numbers under their sub- 
sequent ministr3^ Why it has not followed in the 
subsequent history of the Church, save in a few of its 
martyred saints and persecuted mystics, we have en- 
deavored to show. 

The Christ ideal of attainment and his correspond- 
ing method of its realization by all men, were lost 
to the world through the speculations of the early 
fathers of the Church, who assumed the authority 
of '''' Apostolic successions^ without the real Apos- 
tolic baptism and spirit. The hated and persecuted 
Mystics, who rejected ecclesiastical authority and fol- 
lowed only the divine guide within, held the secret of 
the regenerate life, lost to the Church through its 
pride and pomp of external authority and power, 
the spirit of Anti-Christ. To awaken earnest souls 
to this palpable fact, and call their attention to 
this open secret of the Christ and Apostolic life and 
teaching, is the one motive and hope of our effort in 
these appeals, as through spiritual leading it has tluis 
been opened to us. The recorded life and words of 
these great teachers and exemplars and especially of 
the Master, are fortunately open to all. If u\n\ can 
be induced to break away from the arbitrary and ficti- 
tious authority of tradition, and trust the interpreting 
power of the Spirit in their own souls, the new re- 
nascence of Apostloic life and power will begin. 



278 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

In seeking' the Apostolic baptism and the Christ 
ilhimination of the Holy Spirit^ we have not only the 
example of the Apostles but of the Master also, to 
emphasize the fact, that much earnest effort and pre- 
paratory discipline of exx)erience are necessary to bring 
the soul and its organism up to this consummation 
and supreme experience. The reason of this we haA^e 
endeaA^ored to show and will more specifically illus- 
trate presently. If full, permanent illumination were 
an immediate possibility upon entering' the path of the 
spiritual and obedient life, such surely would have 
been the exiDcrience of the Christ. Thoug-h unques- 
tionably a profound spiritual genius, living a life of 
unexampled fidelity to the law of truth and purity, 
and following the divine leading from a child, he was 
not ready, it appears, for the full, perfect and abiding 
illumination until about thirty years of age. He 
doubtless had, as all who are faithful to divine leading 
will have, seasons of unusual spiritual exaltation and 
revelation, but the development and perfection of cer- 
tain specific organic conditions, both mental and physi- 
cal, were a necessity with him as with all others, 
before the perfect illumination could find a free, normal 
and permanent organic expression. 

This illustrates the truth of his great doctrine of 
birth into the spiritual life or kingdom of God, and 
the growth or unfolding of that life through regen- 
eration, from spiritual infancy" to a full-rounded and 
divine manhood. Once fully attained, however, as 
the Christ, he was especially qualified to do for his 
followers what there was no one thus qualified to do 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 279 

for him; to specifically help them, not only by ex- 
ample and instruction, but by the quickening- touch 
and awakening- power of his personal influence when 
tlie}^, through understanding, were prepared to open 
themselves to him. Hence his specific instruction 
to them before his departure, and through them to 
us and to all who would follow and share with him 
in this divine realization, ^' Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst 
of them.'' 

It was the faithful following of this instruction 
by the Apostles after the ascension of their Lord, 
when ^^ they were all with one accord in one place,'' 
and ^^ continued with one accord in pra3^er and sup- 
plication," that opened them to that marvellous influx 
at Pentecost, when ^'suddenly there came a sound 
from heaven as of a rushing- mightj^ wind, and it fllled 
all the house where they were sitting. And there ap- 
peared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it 
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with 
the Hol3^ Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues 
as the Spirit gave them utterance." About three years 
of preparation under the personal ministry of the Mas- 
ter made them ready for the Pentecostal baptism and 
with it a high degree of, if not the full and perfect, 
spiritual realization. They were ever after ciuIuchI 
with a marvellous power and spiritual insight, wiiicli 
certainly demonstrated the truth of the Lord Christ's 
claim for the regenerating and transforming powcM- of 
the Spirit in the lif(^ and which places the Apostolic 
attainment, at least, within reach of all men. 



280 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

The Times and Seasons.— It is not needful and 
therefore it may not be given any to know the exact 
time when this blessing- may come. It is enough to 
know that regeneration and a season of preparatory 
discipline is a necessity to all, and that the period of 
preparation will depend upon the fldelitj^ and conse- 
cration to the divine leading. On the eve of his trans- 
lation the Master, knowing that the disciples were 
nearly read3^ for this high experience, counselled them 
to remain together at Jerusalem — where their Apos- 
tolic ministry was to commence — with one accord in 
earnest prayerful seeking and confident waiting for 
its immediate realization. Nevertheless he saw that 
it was not best for them to know the time or season 
of its coming, the confident expectation, yet patient 
trusting and dependence upon the Father^s will and 
wisdom, being a necessary condition of the blessing. 
^'And being assembled together with them, he charged 
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but 
to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, 
ye heard of me : For John truly baptized with water; 
but 3^e shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many 
days hence. . . . And he said unto them. It is not for 
you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath 
set within his own authority-. But ye shall receive 
power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and 
ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all 
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of 
the earth.^^ 

The Calling and Election.— We are told in Scrip- 
ture to make our calling and election sure. From the 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 281 

foundation of the world the Father has provided and 
ordained this hig-h privilege and destiny for all His 
children, yet as children of the living* God men are 
endowed with freedom of choice and action, and there- 
fore clothed with the tremendous responsibility which 
this involves. Every department of the divine Econ- 
omy is governed by unerring wisdom and immutable 
law. There is but one pathway to the attainment of 
the immunities, privileges, freedom and mastery of the 
perfect life as sons of God, and that is obedience to 
the law of the Spirit in the life. It is the pathway of 
the spirit, the strait and narrow wa^^ of regenera- 
tion through which alone man can rise from the plane 
of the sensuous to the realization of the spiritual life. 
The election or starting upon the path rests entirely 
with himself. Humanity was brought into being, and 
to the consciousness of personality and responsibility 
on the plane of the sensuous life or natural man, with- 
out any voluntary choice or agency of his own. 

With the endowment of moral freedom and the sense 
of responsibility, the rising to the full realization of his 
inherent possibilities depends entirelj^ upon his co-opera- 
tion with the divine provision to this end. Serious consid- 
eration is necessary to lead one to take the decisive step 
of entire consecration to the leading of tlie Spirit for the 
realization of the perfect life of a child of God, and thus 
enter upon the path ; but the taking of the step is practi- 
cally the work of a moment. It is like the planting of the 
^eed after suitable preparation, in confident expecta- 
tion of a future harvest. When the ideal of tlu> per- 
fect life is fully adopted as the goal of eartlily at- 



282 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

tainment and desire^ and the soul has given itself in 
unreserved abandon to co-operation with the divine 
ministry for its realization^ all needful help and guid- 
ance from the Father will be bountifully given. Then 
all the organic conditions come under the molding 
influence of the new ideal and the ins[)iration of the 
Father's love, and are regenerated and reconstructed 
after tlie divine pattern. This is ^'The washing of re- 
generation and the renewing of the Holy Spirit/' or 
of that which is wholly spiritual. The time consumed 
in the regenerative process before the mental and 
physical conditions are ready for full spiritual illu- 
mination will, we repeat, depend largel^^ upon the 
earnestness and devotion of the disciple in his deter- 
mination to reach the perfect life, and his faithfulness 
in following the leading of the Spirit in the path of 
dut3\ 

Necessity of Discipline. — Much severe discipline 
seems necessary to effect the complete regeneration of 
some, yet the compassionate Father will impose no 
difflculty or burden upon His child which is not best 
for him, and will Himself walk in helj)ful companion- 
ship through the struggle to victoiy. As a rule, the 
more complete the reconciliation of the personal will 
with the Divine will, the shorter will be the discipline 
to which he will be subjected, since victory over self- 
will and personal desire, perfect unity with the will of 
the Father in all things, is the one object of the disci- 
pline. There can be no realization of divine sonship 
until this attitude of the mind and heart is effected. 
When this is complete, the laying on of hands in prayer 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 283 

as in Apostolic times will often accelerate the process. 
This, however, should be resorted to only under the 
unmistakable leading* of the Spirit. It should always 
be made a special subject of prayer for divine leading, 
lest the human be thus made to usurp the place of the 
Divine. 

Inspiration and Illnmination.— While the distinc- 
tion between inspiration and illumination is fully im- 
plied in what has been said, a statement of what the 
difference specifically is may help to a better under- 
standing" of the whole subject involved. Inspiration 
leads to illumination, and is a necessity to it; but in- 
spiration is not in itself illumination. When a inan is 
moved to speak or act wiser and better than he knows 
or intends he is inspired. Man^'^ unworth^^ men have 
thus at times been made the instruments of truth, jus- 
tice and heroism, because the^^ were moved for the 
time by a diviner influence than their natural affilia- 
tions would attract, or are lifted by a temporary 
quickening and exaltation of the better nature by the 
divine contact. Inspiration is not in itself evidence of 
personal righteousness, or moral purity. All men are 
subjects of inspiration in a greater or less degree, and 
may under the proper conditions have the nobler im- 
pulses quickened within them by the touch of a lioly 
influence from centres of divine activit^^ or the baser 
impulses quickened by the touch of a corrupting influ- 
ence from centres of depraved activity. Wlien the 
heart is centred in God, liowever, the life is opemnl 
only to influences that ai'e divine and heavcMily, and 
thus receives power to exert a corresponding inlluence 



284 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

upon all it touches. Every monition of the Spirit in 
the moral sense or conscience^ prompting to and ap- 
proving- rights protesting against and condemning 
wrong, is the inspiration of the living God. There is 
no other adequate source or explanation of this moral 
sense. 

It is this which relates and binds the soul to God. 
When man recognizes the divine authority of this voice 
of God in his own soul, and desires only to know 
and be guided by the divine will and wisdom which 
thus prompts him, he opens himself fully to the imme- 
diate inspiration and guidance of the Divine Spirit, and 
the special ministry of heaven. He thus also effectu- 
ally shuts the door against all that is opposed to God 
and His law of truth and righteousness in the personal 
life. The full and permanent inspiration and guidance 
of God are entirely dependent upon a moral motive, a 
spirit of unshrinking lo^^alty to the law of truth and 
right, duty before pleasure and pleasure only in duty. 
Consecration to this life, and the spirit of glad obedi- 
ence to its imperative law, puts the soul under the 
transforming influence and power of the Divine Spirit, 
and the work of regeneration begins. This election or 
choice is the work of man himself, but he will receive 
divine help when it is truly sought, and this help is the 
work of inspiration. As the spiritual life is thus awak- 
ened and under divine influence made to unfold in all 
the faculties of the soul, these faculties take on an intui- 
tive and inspirational activity, and effect correspond- 
ing changes in the organic conditions of brain and bod^^, 
bringing the entire physical organism^ as the instru- 



WHAT IS INSPIKATIOK? 285 

merit of the souVs powers^ into conformit^Mviththe de- 
mands of the spiritual life. This is the work of re- 
.g^eneration which is the necessary preparation for the 
desired illumination. This involves time and discipline 
which^ as before intimated^ will be shortened in pro- 
portion to the earnestness and fidelit}^ of the seeker. 

The Physical Relations and Changes. — The vital 
system and motive apparatus are under the control of 
the nervous system. The nervous structure Avith its 
marvellous centres of living energy and co-ordinating 
power is the immediate seat and instrument of the 
soul and spiritual organism. The soul^ or the living 
self-conscious personality, has the roots of its faculties 
in and draws its life from the spirit. The spirit, which 
is the specialization of the life of God in man, is that 
inmost and essential part and ground of our being 
which has identity of nature, and so makes us one 
with God, in proportion as it unfolds from within and 
becomes expressed in the faculties and powers of the 
soul. It is the Divine and Universal Spirit come to 
limitation in the spiritual and ph^^sical organism of 
man, and through which the life and poweis of man 
are rooted and anchored in the Divine. It is this 
which makes man in his spiritual nature r.nd organ- 
ism an indestructible personality and cliild of God. 
It is this which makes possible the unfokling of the 
Divine nature and attributes in man, which as ciTected 
lifts him into conscious unity and oneness of life with 
the Father, and brings the realization of liis own divine 
nature, spiritual supremacy and fnu'doni as \hc cliikl 
of God. This when reached in tlic body is the ilhi- 



286 THE PATHW.AY OF THE SPIRIT. 

minated life of divine realization on earth, attained 
only through the entire moral and ph^^sical regenera- 
tion of the natural man, in the evolution of the spirit- 
ual man. 

Before this can be effected, the grosser organism, 
the seat of animal activity, must be brought into com- 
plete conformity with and subordination to the de- 
mands of the nervous system, that it may respond to 
all the normal activities of that system. The nervous 
s^^stem must in turn be brought and kept in like con- 
formity with and subordination to the demands of the 
soul, so that it shall respond with spontaneous ease 
and promptness to every normal activity of the soul. 
These to be normal and perfect must be under the law 
of the spiritual life and the spontaneous expression of 
its inspirations. To secure this, the spiritual life must 
be awakened into full activity and brought forth to its 
rightful supremacy in the soul, and through the soul 
over the entire dependent organism. The soul then 
becomes the organic expression of the s^Dirit, the nerv- 
ous system the perfect instrument of the soul, and the 
vital and motive systems are brought under the con- 
trol and made responsive to the co-ordinated and 
healthful activities of the nervous system. 

To bring about and establish these as the permanent 
organic conditions of soul and bod3^ is the true educa- 
tion and onl}" perfect preparation for the real work of 
life, the Avork of achievement and masteiy. In effect- 
ing this result, a twofold culture is involved; physical 
as well as spiritual. There is a physical morale for 
the body as there is a spiritual morale for the soul. 






WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 287 

The first is expressed in the law already stated; viz., 
conservation of energ-y in the animal activities of the 
vital functions, for expenditure in the hig'her activities 
of the rational and moral powers in the legitimate 
work of life. This is physical morality. That the 
hig-her activities of the soul be held and directed to 
their true work, they must be under the law of the 
spiritual life and the inspiration of the Divine Spirit, 
the personal life and motives one with the Divine. 
This is spiritual morality. For the animal in man to 
be subordinated to and co-ordinated with his spiritual 
nature, the personal will must be subordinated to and 
co-ordinated with the Divine will and purpose in the 
life. There must be no cross purposes between the 
finite will, desire and judg-ment of the child and the 
infinite wisdom and g'oodness of the Father. 

The spiritual nature is alwa^^s at one with God, be- 
cause it is so much of His Spirit in His child; but the 
personal desire and will are not alwa3\s at one with 
the spiritual nature; they are more g-enerall^y with the 
animal in opposition to the spiritual. Hence the spir- 
itual nature can be unfolded and brought into activity 
in the soul's iDowers and enthroned in permanent su- 
premacy in the org-anic man, onl3^ as these powers are 
kept under the inspiration and g-uidance of the Fathers 
Spirit; and this is wholly a matter of personal desire, 
or choice and will — the desire to be at one with the 
Father and to know and fulfil only His will and pur- 
pose which are infinitely wise and g'ood. ** Whei'efore, 
brethren, g'ive dilig'ence to make your calling* and c\oc- 
tion sure: for if ye do these thing's, yc shall never fail." 



288 THE PATH^VAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Co-ordination a Necessity. — Until all the physical 
org-ans are responsive to and under the complete con- 
trol of the co-ordinated energ"ies of the nervous system, 
and these in turn are responsive to and under the con- 
trol of the higiier soul powers, the soul itself is neither 
prepared nor qualified for the full illumination of the 
Spirit. While the law of physical morality here de- 
fined is disregarded, there will be a continual disturb- 
ance and depletion of the nervous forces through the 
excessive and perverted activities of the animal func- 
tions, which in due time brings permanent derange- 
ment of the nerve centres and weakness and irritability 
of the nervous system, unfitting it as an instrument 
for the normal dev^elopment and exercise of the soul's 
powers. Until this law is strictly observed in the physi- 
cal functions, there can be no perfect co-ordination of 
the grosser organism with the nervous s^^stem and 
this with the spiritual, and, therefore, no regeneration 
and 13 reparation for spiritual illumination and divine 
realization. And again, this complete physical and 
spiritual co-ordination is possible onl^^ through the co- 
ordination of the personal desires and will with the 
will and purpose of the Father in us. Until this is 
made the ruling motive of life, no advance can be made 
toward si)iritual illumination. Desire for reconciliation 
or at-one-ment with the Father is the first step in this 
direction, and no other can be taken without it. 

Divine Realization. — This is the realization of one- 
ness of life and purpose with the Father in all the per- 
sonal activities, in which the soul is enabled to see 
things in the light of truth, or as God sees them. 



M 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 289 

Dwelling in unity with the Father he stands in the 
light of the Divine omniscience, and interprets all 
things in that light, which is the perfect vision of truth 
and righteousness. This is divine illumination and is 
one with divine realization. 

The Specific Steps Involved. — The soul as a spiritual 
organism and personal identity, is first individualized 
and brought to the realization of self-conscious being 
and personality on the plane of the natural man, under 
the dominion of the senses and the law of the animal 
or selfish life. The second crisis or step in its evolution 
is the awakening to the higher consciousness of spir- 
itual being and personal relationship to God as child 
to Parent, and the spirit of fidelity to that relationship, 
determined to follow only the inspiration and guidance 
of the Father. This is spiritual birth, and entrance 
into the true life of a child of God. 

The third step is the unfolding and perfection of that 
life in the soul with corresponding transformation of 
organism under the inspiration of the Father's love. 
This is the work of regeneration. When the law of 
the animal life — self-gratification and self-will — is thus 
wholl^^ overruled and replaced by the law and love of 
righteousness and truth, and the co-ordination of the 
physical organism with the souFs powers, under divine 
leading, is complete, the soul is then ready, not before, 
for the full and permanent illumination of the Spirit. 
Before this divine consummation is reached, however, 
the faithful will have seasons of spiritual exaltation, 
when there will be a temporary suspension of the ac- 
tivities of the outward man, and the soul will for the 
19 



290 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

time be immersed in the pure light of the Spirit^ and 
reahze the beatific supremacy and untrammeled free- 
dom of the spiritual life, in conscious oneness with the 
life of God. When^ throug-h the completed work of 
regeneration^ this becomes the permanent realization 
or consciousness^ all personal desire and Avill become 
one with the Divine. The soul is then animated b3^ 
the one desire to be only the Word made flesh, a per- 
sonal expression of the Divine will and wisdom, the 
embodiment of the one perfect life and thought of 
God. 

Spiritual Illiiminatioii. — Spiritual illumination is 
the unclouded vision of truth and righteousness, when 
the soul is one in spirit and purpose with the Father, 
and the Divine nature shines through it unobstructed, 
so that the consciousness of things is one with the 
Divine Spirit, and the personal equation is submerged 
and forgotten in the one light of the Divine omnis- 
cience. Opinion is then sunk in actual knowledge and 
the authority of personal judgment is lost and forgot- 
ten in the authority of truth itself. Truth is the rela- 
tion of things as they are in reality, or, as they exist 
in the mind of God; and righteousness is personal ad- 
justment to this reality, in which pride of opinion, the 
wisdom and authority of men, and all human stan- 
dards become as worthless rags. The vision of right- 
eousness comes only with the spirit of this personal ad- 
justment in righteousness. They are shnultaneous 
and constitute the unity and identity of the soul with 
righteousness or oneness with the Divine. It is the 
realization of God. 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 291 

Thing's are external and objective; the truth of 
thing-s is subjective; in spiritual illumination^, the 
objective facts^ and the subjective truth of facts and 
of the relations and principles involved, become 
one in the consciousness, and the perfect adjust- 
ment of the soul to this perception, is the personal 
realization and consequent identit}^ of the soul with 
the truth, and so with God. In this circle of divine 
experience the authority of truth stands supreme in 
the consciousness over all personal opinion and over 
all authority of personalities. Inspiration is alwa^^s 
personal because partial and incomplete. There is and 
can be no such thing- as plenary inspiration. Should 
inspiration open the soul to the perception of absolute 
truth, it is no longer inspiration, but illumination; it 
is absolute knowledge from personal reahzation. The 
soul cannot then be informed of the truth; because it 
is one with the truth in this realization. The object 
of inspiration is to lead and lift the soul to this realiza- 
tion which begins in and with illumination; but where 
illumination begins inspiration ends. 

While the personal equation remains, the soul is the 
subject of and dependent upon inspiration, but the in- 
spiration is of necessity more or less refracted bj^ the 
personal equation. This is overcome onlj^ through 
perfect unity with God in all things, the compb^te 
realization of God in the life. Spiritual illumination 
then is the full vision of truth and righteousness when 
the soul, standing in the light of onmiscience, sees things 
from the standpoint of the Divine ; sees and knows them 
as they are in the mind of God; when all personal de- 



292 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

sire and preferences, all jDride of oi)inion, human wis- 
dom and all standards of human authoritj^, all fear 
and favor of men sink out of sight in the ineffable 
sense of unity with the thoug'ht and wisdom of God. 
This is impossible to one who seeks divine sanction to 
his own preconceived oiDinion, doctrine, creed, philoso- 
ph}^, or any s^^stem of human thought and speculation. 
The human must become absolutel^^ still in the recog- 
nition of the Divine voice and desire for the revelation 
of ti'uth in its divine reality and significance. The 
personality must be sunk in the supreme realization 
of truth and right, in the one desire that these onl^^ 
shall speak and be heard. 

UnitA^ of spirit and purpose with God in the life 
is an absolute necessity for the illumination of His 
Spirit, and this unity is possible only through the 
supreme love that gives all to be one with the Father 
in all things, that God may be all and in all, the 
one realization in which the personal equation disap- 
pears. Inspiration is given, we repeat, to guide and 
lead up to this experience. Insj)iration is open to 
all and belongs to all. It can heliD men, however, 
to this divine realization, onlj^ as iiersonal preferences, 
pride of oj)inion and desire for self-exaltation are 
laid down, that the truth and righteousness which are 
of God shall rule the thought and life. ''Be still 
and knoAv that I am God.^^ ''And when he had called 
the people unto him with his disciples also, he said 
unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him 
deii}^ himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it ; but who- 



I 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION? 



293 



soever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, 
the same shall save it/^ ^^Be not therefore anxious, 
saying". What shall we eat ? or, What shall we drink ? 
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? . . . For your 
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these 
things. But seek ye first his kingdom and his right- 
eousness; and all these things shall be added unto you/^ 



I 



CONCLUSION. 

To such as have been helped by the reading of this 
book to a new or fuller conception of the higher and 
perfect life divinel^^ promised and possible to man on 
earth, and who desire above all things to attain, while 
in the flesh, to its certain supremacy", illumination and 
power, we would offer in conclusion a few practical 
suggestions concerning the necessary initiator}^ steps 
to be taken. 

Nothing, for this purpose, can be more explicit and 
assuring when understood, than the words of the Lord 
Christ recorded in Matt, xviii. 18, 19, 20: "Verily I say 
unto 3^ou, Whatsoever jq shall bind on earth shall be 
bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on 
earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto 
you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touch- 
ing anything that thej^ shall ask, it shall be done for 
them of my Father which is in heaven. For whei'e 
two or three [two or more] are gathered together in 
my name, there am I in the midst of them.^^ 

Here are three distinct relations and conditions 
specified by the Master as involved in the work of 
spiritual development and realization. The first pre- 
sents the law which determines the success or failure 
of all human effort. The second defines the conditions 
under which special answers to prayer, or divine help 



d 



CONCLUSION. 295 

to specific ends and purposes, are secured; and the 
third reveals the conditions under Avhich the special 
ministr^^ of the Christ in spiritual presence and power 
is to be secured and enjoyed^ which opens man to the 
Christ life and makes that ministry possible and cer- 
tain. 

The first clause here quoted, assumes that the di- 
vine economy and g-overnment are perfect and there- 
fore unchang-eablc, and that these are pledg-ed to the 
absolute vindication and triumph of every movement 
in harmony with the divine order, and the ultimate 
and certain defeat of all that is opposed to that order. 
So far as man is concerned, everything- depends upon 
the relation and attitude which, as an individual, 
he assumes toward the divine law and government. 
Whatever attitude he seems to assume, his dominant 
ideals and ruling motives determine his actual char- 
acter and position before God, and the corresponding 
results in his life. In endowing man with freedom of 
choice and action, God virtually binds Himself, in His 
dealings with him, to the results under His perfect 
economy, of the choice he makes. As a man sows so 
must he reap. If he sows to the Spirit in his ideal and 
effort, he is bound to realize his highest ambition. If 
he sows to the flesh or the selfish life he is doomed in- 
evitably to ultimate defeat. Man thus determines for 
himself the character of his life in the tiesh, by the 
ideal and motives that dominate tliat life, wlietlier lie 
shall be the slave of physical coiulitions, or i*ise to 
dwell in spir-itual supremacy over them. He binds 
not only lunisolf but pi-actically binds God also— in 



296 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

His perfect and immutable law — to the leg"itimate re- 
sults of his attitude toward the divine order, whether 
it be in harmony therewith or in opposition thereto. 
^'^ Veril^^ I say unto you. Whatsoever 3^e shall bind on 
earth [the conditions of the human in its relations to 
the Divine] shall be bound in heaven [the position of 
the Divine in its relation to the human]; and whatso- 
ever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven/^ 
If a man, then, commit himself in faith and effort to 
the attainment of the perfect life on earth, he binds 
not only himself but the power of omnipotent love to 
its accomplishment. 

The second step and condition here specified, refers 
to the relation and attitude of men toward each other, 
implying- that all interests and efforts in the divine 
order are mutual and co-operative; and hence that 
associative action on the part of man is a necessity 
to perfect success. Under this law we have the as- 
surance of divine co-operation in every righteous 
cause, and the unfailing- efficacy of united prayer. 
^^ Again I say unto you. That if tAvo of you shall agree 
on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it 
shall be done for them of my Father which is in 
heaven.^^ Unselfish union of souls for the attainment 
of divine power of service to man, brings union with 
God in the realization of that power, and its actuali- 
zation in service. Hence it is that unity of men in 
mutual interest and associative effort for the realiza- 
tion of brotherhood in God, brings them into oneness 
with God in the reaUzation of His Spirit and power in 
their lives, We have a complete illustration of this 



CONCLUSION. 297 

truth in the ApostoUc experience at and after Pente- 
cost. 

The third step and condition which follows in the 
order specified by the Master, is the special niinistr3^ 
of his spirit in active co-operation with raen^ which 
their union in associative effort in his name secures. 
The union of souls for the realization of the Christ-life 
of divine sonship and brotherhood, unites them with 
his spirit and opens them to the special ministry of 
heaven in his name. The Divine sphere being thus 
opened to them as it was to the Master and the Apos- 
tolic brotherhood, the Christ or anointing- Spirit of 
heavenly love, sympathy and ministration descends 
upon them and becomes an abiding presence and power 
in their lives. Conjunction with the Christ-heaven 
and conscious communion and fellowship with the 
angels of God thus become permanently established. 

We have illustrated a practical application of the 
primary steps and conditions here considered, in the 
action of the Apostles preceding the outpouring of the 
Spirit at Pentecost, when, in compliance with the Mas- 
ter's instruction, thej^ met together in his name, "^^ with 
one accord in one place.'' Compliance with these spec- 
ified laws and conditions leads necessarily, as with 
them, to the 

FORMATION OF SPIRITUAL GROUPS 

as permanent centres of actual brotherhood, for llie 
conditions of spiritual evolution and associative elfort 
in attaining divine realization on eai*th. Tlu^ Master 
formed a permanent gr'oup of twelve; and though lu^ 



298 THE PATHAVAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

taug'lit the multitude as occasion offered^ his special 
instruction and training* were confined to the select 
twelve. Here is a hint and example which it will be 
always safe to follow^ but they can be started with 
two or more. 

Let any number then from two to twelve, who can 
unite for a permanent g*roup to become one in spirit 
and work as a unit^ band themselves sacredly together 
in the holy brotherhood of Spirit, and in the name of 
him who opened the divine and perfect life in its ful- 
ness unto men. Let the Apostolic example be their 
Model, and nothing less than the fulness of the Pente- 
costal baptism their ideal of preparation for service. 
Let the union in prayer be for this blessing-, remem- 
bering- the last injunction of the Master to the Apos- 
tolic group, '' Tarry ye at Jerusalem until ye be endued 
with power from on high.^' This prayer-union is your 
Jerusalem of preparation. Wait for the sure leading 
of the Spirit before entering upon any special work in 
his name. "Do not run before you are sent;^^ but 
when you feel the unmistakable moving of the Spirit, 
shrink not from faithful obedience to its leading. 
^'Quench not the Spirit; despise not prophes3dng.'' 
The Master himself did not enter upon his work until 
from his season of preparation in seclusion, he " re- 
turned in the power of the Spirit.^^ So the Apostles at 
and after Pentecost were '' filled with the Holy Spirit/^ 
and "^ spake as the Spirit gave them utterance.^^ ^^ How 
shall they preach except they be sent?^' The sim- 
plest effort " in the demonstration of the Spirit and 
power/' will effect results impossible without it Let 



CONCLUSION. 299 

the place and time be chosen, consecrated and held 
sacred to these g-atherings in his name, and nothing- 
be alloAved to interrupt or prevent the gathering's 
within power to avoid. Let the meeting's be as fre- 
quent as possible without interfering- with the leg-iti- 
mate work and duties of the outward life. 

ORDER OF EXERCISES. 

It will be asked, how shall the g-roups be conducted ? 
The order of exercises should be of the simplest char- 
acter lest too much dependence be placed upon exter- 
nals, which will ever, as it always Jias, defeat the end 
in view. The first object of the gathering' — the open- 
ing and leading of the Spirit in the entire work — should 
be kept uppermost in mind. Let there be as little 
suggestion and interference from the wisdom of the 
external man as possible. The example of the earl 3^ 
Friends, which in the beginning of their society was 
wiiolly a leading of the Spirit, is worth}^ of studj^ and 
emulation. The record of that movement in the day 
of its power, and of the marvellous spiritual experi- 
ences of its inspired apostles, is a mine of spiritual 
wealth and suggestiveness. They followed more closely 
the Apostolic method and reproduced more nearly the 
Apostolic experience and results than has becMi done 
since that wonderful day. They lost the Spirit in its 
inspiration and power, only b3^ making a virtue of their 
simplicity and emphasizing the form, which thus be- 
came as much a dead formality and external service 
that deludes the conscience with a false sensi^ of duty 
done^ as the ceremonials and ecclesiasticism of tlu^ 



300 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

more pretentious sects. To avoid this mistake, keep 
the emphasis ever upon the immediate inspiration and 
leading" of the Spirit, seeking* onl^^ this, and being ever 
ready to adopt any form of exercise or work which 
may be spiritually opened to the group. 

Better follow faithfuU^^ the leading of the Spirit 
even at the risk of fanatacism than attempt to limit 
its ma.nifestation to any external standard of author- 
ity or propriety. The Apostles were thought to be 
drunken with wine at Pentecost. One onl^^ iDrecaution 
is needed: If a member of the group feel prompted of 
the Spirit to offer a suggestion concerning an exercise 
of the meeting or some ministration of service, let it 
be submitted to the spiritual intuitions of the entire 
group. There can be no perfect work without the 
united action of the group. The very object of its for- 
mation is to secure this, and it is more readily" effected 
with a small number of not more than twelve than 
Avith more, until, at least, a good degree of spiritual 
development is attained. The group must become 
one in the Spirit before the Spirit can become one in it 
to use it as an organic instrument of service. The 
object, we repeat, of the group becoming unitized in the 
Spirit is, that the Spirit may become incarnated or 
embodied and expressed in it as a unit. When this 
unity is complete, and not before, the full Pentecostal 
^'^ demonstration of the Spirit and power ^' will come. 
The opening of the spiritual life of each to the others 
will open the spiritual heavens unto all. 

Since the first object is the opening of the spiritual 
life of the entire group as one, let all external sugges- 



CONCLUSION. 301 

tion^ criticism and judgment be suspended^ and let the 
slig"htest movement of the Spirit in each be encour- 
aged. Above all things avoid the danger of an}^ one 
assuming to be, or of being looked to as an oracle for 
others. Look for and seek only the divine oracle in 
each soul, and in due time it will respond in fulness. 
Remember, however, the diversity of gifts, and that 
the gifts of each may varj^ In a group of twelve we 
have reason to expect all the special gifts enumerated 
by Paul. Let each gift be honored and encouraged. 
'"^ Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spbit. 
And there are differences of administrations [minis- 
tration], but the same Lord. And there are diversities 
of operations, bat it is the same God which worketh 
all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given 
to every man to profit withal.'' One ma}^ have ''the 
word of wisdom," and thus furnish inspired counsel to 
others or to the group, as needed, but if it be of the 
Spirit it will be recognized and responded to as such 
by the spiritual sense of the entire group, and nothing- 
should be done without this response and sanction. 
This will not only prove a safeguard against fanati- 
cism, but will also prevent the spirit of the human 
from stepping forth in leadership, which now, as in all 
the past, will be the one temptation and danger. " He 
that would be greatest among you let him be servant 
of all.'' "And be ye not called Rabbi; for one is your 
Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren." " Where 
two or three are gathered together in my nanu^, there 
am I in the midst of them." 
The Christ will speak his Avord of light and power 



302 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

in the silence of each soul; and this will find external 
expression in the spiritual gift of that soul. What has 
been said of " the word of wisdom ^^ applies equally to 
all the " Gifts.'' That which is truly of the Spirit will 
meet with the spiritual recog^nition and response of 
the entire g-roup. This law of spiritual brotherhood 
and fellowship^ if observed in its spirit^ will preserve 
the g-roups from all dang-er of perverted activity in 
either direction. ^^How is it then, brethren ? when ye 
come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a 
doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an in- 
terpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying/' 
Each will have some special leading, experience or 
revelation, either in or out of the meetings, and unless 
spiritually restrained from doing so, should report 
them for the edification and encouragement of the 
group. The Apostle Paul gives much valuable instruc- 
tion concerning the meetings of the groups, in the 14th 
chapter of First Corinthians. 

We will suggest a simple order for the starting of 
the groups, after which let it be open to such modifica- 
tion and change as the inspiration of each group leads 
it to adopt. 

Until, at least, some decided degree of spiritual in- 
spiration and power is developed, the meetings of the 
groups should be strictl^^ confined to its members, and 
their experiences in the meetings or connected with 
them, should be held sacred to the group and not made 
the subject of discussion and criticism outside. Those 
anxious to know of these experiences can easily obtain 
them by forming a group of their own, This may 



CONCLUSiOK. 308 

beg-in with two or three "' in his name/^ The need of 
this silence is that the work of the Spirit shall not be 
subjected to the judgrnent and criticism of the flesh. 
Silence of the flesh and stillness of the external is an 
absolute necessity to spiritual revelation and develop- 
ment. When the Pentecostal baptism is reached and 
the g-ifts of the Spirit are full}^ and j)ermanentl3^ es- 
tablished, the group will be moved to give its open tes- 
timony to the world, and to enter upon its pubUc min- 
istry. 

A chairman should be chosen to conduct the exer- 
cises, open and close the meetings, etc.; and such other 
officers also as may be needed to manage the external 
affairs of the group. The length of time for the reg-- 
ular sessions should be agreed upon, and all the mem- 
bers should be in their places at the opening and re- 
main till the close. Except for special reasons, the 
meetings should open and close promptlj^ at the time 
appointed. The best results will be secured by the 
strict observance of this rule. A short time devoted 
to the singing of Spiritual Hymns, or Songs of the 
Spirit, tends to harmonize and spiritualize the sensi- 
bilities and promote a spirit of unitj^ and fellowship. 
Then a reading of brief scripture selections, Avithout 
comment, or spiritual instruction and experience fo^om 
other spiritual writing; after which, let there be a 
season of silent meditation and prayer for the inward 
opening and revelation of tlie Spirit. The brief read- 
ing of inspired writing or recoi-d of spiritual experi- 
ences, helps to call in wandering thoughts and unify 
and focalize the attention upon the object of the meet- 



304 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

ing", preparatory to the silence for divine communion 
and revelation. Ten to fifteen minutes at leasts may 
be profitably spent in these preparatory exercises, 
and not less then twenty minutes or half an hour 
should be given to the silence. After this such as have 
experienced a movement or revelation of the Spirit, 
should each in turn in the briefest time and manner 
IDOSsible give expression to the same, unless especially 
restrained of the Spirit from doing so. Let the time 
be thus occupied in such testimony, words of exhorta- 
tion, songs, prayers, or ministry of healing-, present or 
absent, as the Spirit prompts. Better keep still and 
silent to the end, however, than to let the human 
speak or act without the prompting of the Spirit. Let 
there be no discussion nor dictatorial expressions. 
These meeting's are for the unfolding of spiritual and 
inspirational power, and ultimate illumination, not m- 
tellectual training. Opportunities for the latter are 
everywhere abundant. The spiritual can be unfolded 
only through communion with and inspiration from 
the Divine. The si^ecific object of these groups is to 
open and bring to permanent realization this exalted 
experience. To meet in his name is to seek in unity 
of effort for the realization of his promised presence 
in Spirit and power. The actualization, of this in con- 
scious exj)erience is more to be desired than all exter- 
nal accomplishments. It will bring infinitely more 
into the life. Conscious fellowshij) with the Divine is 
the realization of the loftiest possible aspiration of 
man. ''With thee is the fountain of life; and in thy 
light shall I see light,'' 



APPENDIX. 



20 



APPEl^DIX. 



[The following" extracts from letters received from 
readers of the previous volume^ "The Way, The Truth 
and The Life/^ are given to show the hearty welcome 
with which the views therein set forth have been re- 
ceived, and the deep interest awakened in its interpre- 
tation of the Christ, and the higher possibilities of 
man on earth thus opened to faith and effort. Several 
hundred similar letters have been received from all 
classes, orthodox and heterodox, so that it would al- 
most seem that a platform is here presented upon 
which all could unite to work for the realization of the 
Christ ideal — the Christ promise of the perfect life of 
divine sonship and brotherhood in universal experience. 
Some of the most hearty and appreciative letters have 
been from clergymen of different denominations. Some 
of the more enthusiastic expressions have been pur- 
posely withheld from these selections, but what is given 
is a fair type of the bulk of the letters received from 
people to whom the author is a stranger, save througli 
the reading of his book. 

Many interesting questions have been received from 
readers of "The Way, The Truth and the Life/Moo 



308 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

numerous for individual reply, but which it is hoped 
have been satisfactorily answered in ''''The Pathway 
of The Spirit/' Should further questions or difficulties 
arise, they will be considered in succeeding volumes of 
this series.] 



Dear Sir : — Having- read jour book, viz., The Way 
etc., or Christian Theosophy, for which I cannot find 
words to express my gratitude to you for so ably elu- 
cidating the principles of practical Christianity, I 
wish that every jDreacher and teacher of Christianity 
could read it and adopt its views, which, if generally 
adopted, would bring about the millennium. Please 
mail particulars about j^our school and oblige a seeker 
after truth.^^ 



My Dear Sir: — . . . I cannot tell you how thank- 
ful I am that your book came into m^^ possession. To 
me it is the direct inspiration from Christ himself, and 
you must be the happiest of men to have been led along 
so divine a path, to the perfect understanding of His 
mission and method. 

^^ Yours very sincerely, 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir : — I have just finished reading your hand- 
book of '^Christian Theosophy: The Way, The Truth 
and The Life,^^ and must say it gives m€ a more com- 
prehensible insight into the teachings of the Christ 
than anything I have ever read before. 



APPENDIX. g09 

It creates a thirst to persevere in the Scriptures and 
a desire to understand more fully the methods taught 
and applied by you in your school. . . . Awaiting" 
your reply, ^^ Yours truly. 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir : — I have just finished reading j^our book, 
'' The Way, The Truth and The Life," which was 
loaned me \>j a friend. I desire to express my grati- 
tude to you as well as to the Divine Spirit that inspired 
you to write a work of such inestimable value. As I 
wish to procure the book for the benefit of others as 
well as myself, will you please tell me where it can be 
obtained and its cost ? Have 3^ou written other works 
on this subject ? An early answ^er will oblige, 

Yours respectfully, 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir: — Please send me one copy ^^The Way, 
The Truth and The Life." 

I think your book is wonderful. It thrilled me with 
new light. A new heaven and a new earth are open 
to me. I read your book as I have searched the Scrip- 
tures in the past. So now I look for treasures in 
Christian Tlieosophy. I shall take pleasure in kMiding 
your book that the light may shine. I inclose $2.00. 

With sincere respect and friendship, 



810 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

J. H. Dewey, 3LD. 

My Very Dear Sir:— "The Way, The Truth and 
The Life '' reached me safelj^, and is my constant com- 
panion, teaching" me many thing's, and above all bring- 
ing' Jesus the Christ nearer to me than I have ever been 
able to realize before. . . . Inclosed find $2.00 express 
order, for which please send a copy of '" The Way, The 

Truth and The Life '' to , an only sister of Mr. 

my husband. I have interested her in your 

book by reading portions of it to her while she was ill, 
and she desired me to write for it. Wishing you the 
best there is in life, I am very sincerely. 

Your friend. 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir: — I have been reading a copj^ of your 
book entitled " The Way, The Truth and The Life.'' 
I sent my copy to a friend, a minister on the Pacific 
coast and desire to obtain another. I cannot say 
enough in praise of the book. I consider it inestimable 
and hope you will fill my order at once, as I shall be 
lonely without it. Enclosed find P. O. order for $2.00. 

Have you other books on this subject ? 

Respectfully, 



J, H, Detvey. 

Dear Brother :— Though we are strang'ers in one 
sense of the word, yet I have become somewhat ac- 



APPENDIX. 311 

quainted with you throug-h your book, '' Christian The- 
osophy/' which I have just finished reading. 

It has opened up many new fields of thought to me, 
and I am really anxious to become more thoroughly- 
consecrated to the work of the Master than hereto- 
fore. I have been a minister for several years. ... I 
am glad I have had the privilege of reading j^our 
book. . . . I do so want to be of more service to human- 
ity in blessing the weak and healing the sick. My life 
is consecrated to the work, and how best to apply my 
talent is the great question of my heart. I want to 
be a perfect man and attain the Christ-like life in this 
body. . . . May God's choicest blessings be ever upon 
and within you, is my accompanying prayer. 

Your Brother in Christ, 



Dr, J, H. Dewey, 

Dear Sir : — Inclosed please find $2.00, for which send 
me ^^The Way, The Truth and The Life." Will say 
that with a few others here, I am studying the above 
with great interest and satisfaction. We are a class 
of four, reading and studying together with a view of 
mutual advancement and if possible we want to help 
others. . . . We like your book much better than an^^- 
thing we have seen, and heartily indorse 3^our position 

regarding . Trusting you will fmd time to give 

us the above desired information, and bidding you God 
speed in the glorious work, I am, 

Very respectfully yours, 



312 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

Dr. Dewey. 

Dear Sir: — Your work called ^'The Way, The 
Truth and The Life/' fell into my hands on last 
Thanksgiving day, and I shall never cease to be thank- 
ful for it. The article on " Mental and Faith-healing/' 
comes the nearest to my own belief and wliat I have 
tried to teach for the past two years of anything I 
have ever seen. I know from my own experience that 
it is true, and I can never accept of a belief which con- 
siders even the most marvellous healing to be any in- 
tervention, or setting aside of laiv. It can only be the 
fulfilling of law. Please send me two copies. . . . 

That your work and teaching may be greatly blest 
and extended for the good of humanity, is the sincere 
wish and desire of. 



Dr. J. H. Dewey. 

Dear Sir : — The book which I requested sent to my 
residence was received. I am glad to get it. "We 
have both read a borrowed copy, and think so highly 
of the work and its concise teachings that we desire 
to own it. Yours truly. 



Dr. J. H. Dewey: — I have read and re-read ^^The 
Way, The Truth and The Life '' with satisfaction and 
delight. 

Though only a student I am able to command the 
conditions of my body, and in considerable measure 
that of my children and others. 



APPENDIX. 313 

Since reading- your beautiful book I have endeavored 
to enter the condition of mental introversion and de- 
velop the sixth and seventh senses. . . . My apology 
for writing is, I am an earnest seeker of Truth, with a 
strong desire to live it, and so operate with those who 
work for the advancement and uplifting of humanity. 
Respectfully and truly yours. 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir: — A friend lent me your book for a few 
hours, she "would not spare it longer ^^ — and I feel I 
must have a copy of my own, for it is the first thing 
in mental healing which I could understand. The title 
is '' Christian Theosophy ^^ isn^t it ? ... I am sure 
many people must thank you in their hearts for your 
beautiful book. Yours^ etc.. 



Dear Dr. Dewey : — I have tried to benefit you and 
others by speaking of your book as I had opportunity. 
To me this is a life-giving book. I send you $2.00 foi' 
''The Way, The Truth and The Life;'' please direct 

the book to and oblige, 

Yours, 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir and Brother: — A copy of youi- work, 
''The Way, Tlie Truth and The Life'' has come into 
my hands, and I have read it with ever increasing in- 



314 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

terest and deep satisfaction, the more so because I had 
seen a part of the truth set forth therein. That mind 
should be master of matter and of all lower forces 
should be true^ and is so in the universe. . . . 

Any suggestions you may make to me will be most 
gratefully received. 

Yours most fraternally, 



Dr. J. H, D. 

Dear Sir:— Your book, ^-'The Way, The Truth and 
The Life/' is the most satisfactory^ work that I have 
seen, and I have read many; and I deem it the very 
best one to place in the hands of my pupils. While it 
treats all points with perfect candor, it contains nothing 
to shock or puzzle one who has studied or taken a 
course of instruction, but it supplements many things 
which can be touched upon but briefly in classes, and 
it leads so gently and clearly to the points as to be in- 
valuable in enabling them to impart in a judicious 
way, something of what they have learned, to those 
whom the}^ would interest, but whom they fear to ap- 
proach abruptly. 

All that I have written falls very far short of what 
I would say, nor does it represent my thought even as 
far as it goes, . . . and I wish to order one dozen 
copies of the work, and feel that I cannot send the 
order without some expression however imperfect it 
be, of my appreciation of your efforts to help mankind. 

Yours very truly, 



APPENDIX. 315 

J". H, Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir : — I have been reading a few chapters of 
your book entitled " The Wa^^ The Truth and The 
Life/' with g-reat interest. . . . Will 3^ou please send me 
a list of 3^our books on this subject, with price attached^ 
including" the one I am reading*, and whether you can 
supply them or how I can get them? 

Very respectfully^. 



Dr. Dewey. 

Dear Sir: — We have greatly enjoyed the perusal 
of " The Way, The Truth and The Life,'' and we re- 
joice with you in the good this work is bound to ac- 
complish. All here who have read it wish to re-read 
again and again, and finally must get the book as their 
own. . . . Respectfully, 



I 



Dr. J. H. Dewey. 

Dear Sir: — Inclosed find my check for $4.00 for 
two copies of "The Way, The Truth and The Life.'' 

I am indebted to for a knowledge of your book, 

she having kindly loaned me her copy. I consider the 
book so valuable that I wish to own it and present a 
copy to a friend. 

It is in my opinion the first correct expression of a 
true system of Theosophy, and it gives nu^ pleasure to 
find an able refutation of current incorrect doctrines. 
. . . Hoping you will excuse the liberty I liave taken, 

I am sincerely yours. 



316 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

J, H. Dewey, 

Dear Sir: — My apology for writing j^ou is, your 
book, " The Way, The Truth and The Life,^^ was placed 
in my hands a few days ago by a friend. I have read 
it. It certainly contains the clearest statement I have 
ever seen of man and his possibilities. Have j^ou the 
book for sale ? Have you written other books ? . . . I 
have been interested in these subjects for years, and 
desire all the light I can get, that I may be useful. . . . 

Fraternally, 



Dear Dr. Dewey : — A friend lent me your book on 
Christian Theosophy, and after an hour^s reading here 
and there, I felt that nothing short of actual owner- 
ship would satisfy me. I enclose $2.00 P. O. order for 
the same. Would you kindl^^ forward book at once as 
I expect to leave the city in a few da^^s, and wish to 
study the book while on my vacation. 

Sincerely, 



Dr. Deivey. 

Dear Friend : — I have been exceedingly interested 
in your book, " The Way, The Truth and The Life,'' 
and find it full of inspiration. 

Yours fraternally. 



Dr, J, H. Deivey, 

My Dear Friend: — Please find inclosed money or- 
der for two more copies of '' The Way, The Truth a nd 



APPENDIX. 817 

The Life/' It is the best book of the kind I have found. 
Have you others ? 

Yours in the Truth, 



Dr. J. H. Dewey. 

Dear Sir : — I came across your book, " The Way, 
The Truth and The Life/' the other day and read a 
few pag-es in it. I was much interested in it. I am a 
clerg*yman. I would Uke to own the book. Will you 
send a copy directed as above ? . . . I think from the 
hour I g-ave to looking* over the book, you have done 
a great service to the cause of Christianity. 

Truly yours, 



J. H. Dewey, M.D. 

Dear Sir: — Please send me by mail or express, as is 
the cheapest, two copies of your "' The Way, The Truth 
and The Life.'' I have one copy of the book now, and 
want these to lend. 

The book has been very helpful to Mrs. S. and m3^self. 
. . . Very truly j^ours. 



Dear Sir:— Inclosed please find $2.00, forwhich send 
me one copy of ^^ Christian Theosophy." 

It is — without flattery — the best book on the subject 
I have read, and it has been of assistance to me. 

Respectfully^ yours. 



318 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIRIT. 

J. H. Dewey, 

Respected Sir: — Please find inclosed $2.00 to pay 
for 3^our grand book, '' The Way, The Truth and The 
Life/^ I have read it once, it was loaned me b}^ a friend 
who bought it of thee. Now 1 wish to own it myself. 
... Very respectfully. 



Dr. J. H, Dewey, 

Dear Sir :— I have read " The Way, The Truth and 
The Life,"' through several times and like it very much 
indeed. Please send catalog'ue with terms for instruc- 
tion and oblige, 

Yours truly. 



Dr. J, H. Dewey, 

Dear Sir: — I am much interested in Christian The- 
osoph^^ as set forth in your book entitled ^^ The Way, 
The Truth and The Life.^^ Have a^ou written other 
books elucidating- Christian Theosophy ? . . . Your 
book is exciting great interest in these parts. 
Very respectfully yours. 



Dear Sir : — Will 3^ou kindly inform me the price of 
your book, '' The Way, The Truth and The Life ? '' It 
is the finest thing of the kind yet published. 

Yours truly. 



APPEKDIX. 319 

Dear Dr. Dewey : — I have been greatly interested 
in your book, '' The Way, The Truth and The Lif e/^ 
and think it should be widely circulated. ^^ few weeks 
ago I sent through a bookseller for a dozen coiiies for 
myself and a few friends. ... I should expect to sell 
a few of the books when there is opportunity, and to 
give or lend to those who are unable or unwilling to 
bu3^, etc. 

Please send addressed to. 



Dr. J. H. Dewey, 

Dear Sir: — Please find inclosed $2.00 in payment 
for one copy of '^ Chris Man Theosophy/^ which be kind 

enough to send to Miss and allow me to 

express my hearty approval and sincere pleasure in 
the book. It has been a help to me. I have been prac- 
tising ^'Christian Science'' for over a year. My en- 
deavor has been to hold the truth in love, and regret 
w^hatever seemed inconsistent with the simple, natural 
teaching of the Scriptures. Friends have asked me re- 
peatedly for some book which I could heartily recom- 
mend. And I take great pleasure in saying to 3^ou 
that ^^The Way, The Truth and The Life'' is the one 
and the only one that secmis to me really scientific. 
Hastily and respectfully 3^ours in the one service and 
life, 



Dr. Dewey, 

Dear Sir:— Inclosed please find $2.00 for copy of 
^'The Way, The Truth, and Tlie Life" to send to Mr. 
. Your woi'k lias lu^lped so clearly to 



820 THE PATHWAY OF THE SPIHIT. 

see and understand this grand Truths that I think 
perhaps it will help my friends to see it also. . . '. Al- 
though I have not read more than half of " The Way, 
The Truth and The Life/' I feel that it is doing more 
for me than anything I have read. . . . 

It suits me thoroughly and I hope to master the 
thoughts therein suggested completely. 

Very Truly, 



Dr. J. H, Detvey. 

My Dear Sir : — I have just read your book '' Chris- 
tian Theosophy.'' It has truly shown me " The Way, 
The Truth and Ttie Life,'' and I thank you for having 
written it. It has helped me to a practical realization, 
I may say, of the possibilities as well as the duty of 
cultivating our higher faculties. 

I have for a long time thought in that direction, but 
you have encouraged and crystallized m^^ resolutions. 



Dr. Jno, Deicey. 

Dear Sir: — About a 3^ear ago we bought a copy of 
''The Way, The Truth and The Life" and read with 
great satisfaction, interest and profit, and have loaned 
and recommended it to many friends and acquaint- 
ances. The book does not lose in interest, but may be 
read and re-read with increasing interest. I inclose 
two dollars for a cop3^ for a friend. 

Yours truly. 



CHRISTIAN THEOSOPHY SERIES. 

A New and Original Series of Books Designed to Unfold and 
Practically Apply the Theosophy of the Christ. 

By JOHN HAMLIN DEWEY, M.D. 



No. 1 of the Series is entitled: 

"The Way, The Truth and The Life: 

A Handbook of Christian Theosophy, Healing and 
Psychic Culture." 

This work of over 400 pag-es gives an outline study 
of man in the hght of the Christ hfe and teaching, de- 
scribes the New Education and the specific processes 
involved, based upon the Ideal and Met4iod of the 
Christ, and comprehensively defines, anal^^zes, and 
applies the fundamental principles upon which the 
whole are based. 

The succeeding numbers of the series are compact 
volumes of from 200 to 300 pages each, in which special 
features of the system are more fully elucidated and 
applied. 

" The Way, The Truth and The Life," Cloth, Gilt, $2.00. 
"The Pathway of the Spirit," 800 pages, Cloth, Gilt, $1.25; 

Paper, 75 cents. 
'* Spiritual Gifts, or True Christian Occultism," in preparation. 
" The Law of the Perfect Life," 



Other Works by the same Author. 

*' Introduction to the Theosophy of Christ " (pamphlet), 35 cts. 
*' Christian Theosophy Defined," '' 6'' 

*' Divinity of Humanity," " 10 " 

"Scientific Basis of Mental Healing," " 10" 

Any of the above works sent post free on receipt of price. 
Address the author, 

J. H. DEWEY, M.D., 

367 West 35tli St., New York. 



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